Nearly sixty-five years ago, My father's family was living in a small two-bedroom frame home. In addition to the two bedrooms, we had a kitchen and front room, often called the parlor. This was in Oasis, Utah. Our nearest neighbor was over a quarter mile away.

There was a flowing well near the south side of our house. The toilet was about three hundred feet away from our house and a wood pile a little way out from the kitchen where we spent many hours chopping cedar wood to stove size to fill the wood box by the stove.

Can you imagine living in a home that did not have a bathroom, or water in the house. No radio or T.V. no electric lights, no central heat. It seems the bedrooms were always very cold in winter with a layer of frost on the North wall much of the time. Our transportation was a small buggy pulled by one horse.

My mother was a very small lady about five feet tall possibly one hundred pounds. Dad was rather heavy set man probably five feet eight. We had a very poor humble home, yet a very good life as a family. Near Christmas time my parents would somehow manage enough money to send a mail order to Salt Lake City for some goodies from Norway which would be some dried herring, codfish, anchovies, cheese, mackerel and a small bottle of port wine. There would be a few oranges and apples and a big box of ginger snaps. It was exciting when all this came to the freight depot. We would hitch up the horse to the buggy and go haul it home.

The Christmas I am writing about was when I was maybe ten years old, very naive I am sure. This Christmas eve I had been out somewhere, and so I entered my home and there was my mother decorating a small tree with popcorn in a string and paper chains (made from little strips of paper made like an O ring and looped together.

Well I was shocked because every other Christmas Santa had brought the tree during the night. Mother then revealed to me the truth about Santa, I was disappointed and saddened because everything we knew of Santa had been so exciting and thrilling, simply great. I cannot recall if I had ever been suspicious but I don't think so. The build up and preparation for it was nothing compared with the present time. Anyway I now felt important to know something the other kids didn't, yet almost wishing I didn't either.

I was sent to bed. My father, always up at 4:30 a.m., built a fire in the big round stove in the parlor and kitchen. When Dad shook the grates to get the ashes down everyone in the house was awake. As soon as it warmed up a little my parents would let us get up.

As we eagerly entered the parlor, there hung the stockings with two animal candies on top (these were clear, hard candies in the form of some animal, maybe two or three inches high). There was a big orange, a bright red apple, some peanuts and hard tacky (candy) and for me a pair of ice skates. I wanted them so much and had waited for so long. I thought this is the most wonderful Christmas ever.

These skates clamped onto the sole of the shoe and the heel were apt to come off anytime and pull the shoes apart when they did. I had great fun that morning skating on the frozen Sevier River.

Then for Christmas day we had the goodies from the Norwegian Delicatessen. We had waited so anxiously to eat. Mother had made Yectecagga, a Norwegian cake. All this was such a special once a year treat. At night we gathered around a big round table with a kerosene lamp in the center and talked of the events of the day.

I am sure that subsequent Santa days never again had quite the charm and thrill, But they have all been very wonderful.