A Farm Kid’s Christmas

I grew up in the 1950’s on a farm located between the communities of Heimdal and Wellsburg. I went to grade school in Wellsburg which is about 14 miles south of Esmond and about the same distance north east of Harvey.

Many of the communites’ social activities were centered around the school and the church.

The school in Wellsburg was 2 rooms, there were 2 teachers, and it had 8 grades. The biggest event of the year in school was the Christmas program. We would do plays, skits, songs, recitations and most of them were comical.

We had great teachers and they made sure that every student had parts to play in the program and had the opportunity to be a “star” for one night.

Everyone from the community came to the program whether they had kids in school or not. It’s hard to believe there was room for that many people in the building but we managed to fit them all in.

The program was in the evening and that afternoon, I believe it was Lyle Meland and other parents would clear the desks from the lower grade room and bring in benches and chairs from the church which was 1 block away. They also built a small stage so we performed a little above the crowd.

On the day of the program we had a dress rehearsal in the morning, then school was dismissed in the afternoon so everyone could get ready for it. There was a lot of excitement felt by the students before the program. Although many of the skits, songs, poems were Christmas related, some were not.

One particular skit and song I remember involved myself and my classmate Betty Meland. We were both in the 8^th grade and we sang a song called Reuben, Reuben I’ve Been Thinking. The song had a girl part and a boy part and there was a little acting that went along with it. Betty and I practiced a lot with Mrs. Molgard who was the music teacher and the community piano teacher.

Betty and I would walk over to Mrs. Molgard’s house which was a block away. Actually everything in Wellsburg was only a block away, a pretty small town. Mrs. Molgard would play the piano and we would sing. I needed a lot of practice as I couldn’t “carry a tune in a bushel basket.” But Mrs. Molgard was always very patient with me.

Mrs. Molgard suggested that at the end of the song I should give Betty a kiss on the cheek but I responded “no way am I going to kiss a girl, especially in public!” I think Betty was glad I wasn’t going to kiss her, too.

But for some reason, at the program after we sang our song, I surprised everyone, including myself and I gave Betty a kiss on the cheek. The crowd erupted with laughter and I can still see the schocked look on Betty’s VERY red face. She was to say the least, very embarrassed! And that is the story of when I kissed my first girl.

Several years ago I asked Betty if she remembers that but she said she doesn’t. But I do!

After the program Santa Claus would show up and pass out candy bags with homemade popcorn balls, caramel apples, peanuts, Cracker Jack and other gooey, sweet things. A jolly fellow from Heimdal usually played Santa Claus as he had the body style for it, if you know what I mean!

The next big event was the church program at Bethania Lutheran church in Wellsburg. Every Sunday School kid had a “piece” to learn, everyone sang songs. And of course there was a manger scene. One year I got to play Joseph and I wore someone’s heavy brown bathrobe. Of course my friend Betty Meland got to play Mary.

The program was in the evening and I think on a Sunday. Everyone was all dressed up, suits, ties, dresses, hats, and it seemed lots of perfume and after shave lotion! And it always seemed like the weather was very cold.

The Sunday School kids drew names for gifts. And I seem to remember that Santa Claus would find his way to church too and give out treats.

Christmas Eve day for me was always exciting because in the evening we would get together with my Mom’s sister’s family, Ruth and Conrad Johnson and their kids Dickey, Lorna, and Dennis. We would have a big meal and then open gifts.

The women would make all sorts of Norwegian food including lutefisk although I think my Dad was the only one who actually liked it. In later years Mom started serving Torsk instead of lutefisk and everyone liked that better.

We always had rommergrot, lefsa, krumkake, and all the other Norwegian goodies. My Dad would get a special treat of pickled herring and he would eat the whole jar by himself. I could eat it but I can’t say I liked it!

After supper all the kids would help with the dishes so we could get to the gift opening. Christmas time is when a kid is the best behaved and the most productive.

We would all sit in the living room and us kids would pass out the gifts. Once the gifts were all distributed, everyone tore into their packages. It was quite a scene with all the tearing of wrapping paper and the laughing.

We didn’t get a lot of gifts by today’s standards but the ones we did get we appreciated. My mother kept a diary of every gift anyone received from 1950-1968. In 1957 when I was 7 years old I received a guitar and a car. Just what I wanted! My Grandpa always gave us money, usually I think $1 or $2. My Grandma who lived in Montana would give us a silver dollar each. I still have mine.

On Christmas Day we would get together with other relatives for another big meal, visiting, and playing. I remember very vividly how warm and cozy our little house felt with all the cooking and people around.

On New Year’s Day my mother always would invite the Sannan’s over for a noon meal. The Sannan’s were 5 brothers and their mother. They were our closest neighbors and at times our “guardian angels”. I found out a few years ago that we were also related to them. After the meal was over, one of them would say “yeah, yeah” and then they would all get up and leave. The Sannan’s were wonderful people!

And that was the Christmas season on the farm!

Thank you for letting me share my memories and for reading this.

Submitted by Darrell Hovland, Penn, ND