Small furniture holds Christmas memory

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December 23, 2008

By JIMMY LOWE The Glasgow Daily Times Tue Dec 23, 2008, 08:55 AM CST

GLASGOW — While enjoying conversation with Dr. Carolyn McKinley, you’ll notice how she compliments what she has to say with her sparkling eyes, her spontaneous smiles, and her frequent gestures. Recently, I talked with her concerning a special Christmas of eight decades ago, and her eyes got even brighter, her smiles even bigger, and her gestures constantly punctuated her joyous memories.

The Christmas she told me about was one when she was 5 years old. She recalled she was both surprised and excited when it came time to see what gifts awaited her and her sisters. “I just remember the big doors opening and seeing all the furniture. We called it doll furniture, but it was children furniture, really. Mother had a Mr. McMurtry in Summer Shade make this furniture for us.”

She seemed to be seeing that furniture again in her mind as she described the dresser with a mirror and drawers, and the hutch with clear glass. She remembered how she and her sister Lois put their dolls in the little twin beds. “We played with the furniture for many years. It was sturdy. It was made with solid oak lumber, and it remains in good condition today.”

That Christmas came just before the Great Depression. Dr. Carolyn doesn’t remember specifically, but suspects that the family didn’t have as much back then as during other times. Concerning the Depression, she said, “I remember everybody talking about it. I knew something bad had happened.” As Dr. Carolyn recalled those childhood Christmases, there was not even a hint of any depressing memory.

“Mother did what we wanted about decorating the Christmas tree,” she fondly recalled. “We made popcorn strings for our cedar tree.” As she recalled, “It seemed we had more Christmas snows back then.” She remembered the stockings filled with fruit, the holiday visits with family and friends, and the special festive atmosphere associated with the Christmas season. About Christmas carols, she confessed, “I didn’t sing very well, but I had fun.”

I asked her about her father, Dr. C. C. Howard. “Did your dad sometimes get called away because someone needed a doctor during Christmas?”

“Sometimes?” she laughed. “All the time! He worked seven days out of seven days. Many nights we ate our supper at 9 or 10 because our mother thought we should wait for our father.” She paused and then added, “Daddy just worked all the time, but he enjoyed Christmas.”

Listening to her talk, it was obvious that the enjoyment of the Christmas season had been passed down through the generations of her family. After sharing many other wonderful Christmas memories from her life, Dr. Carolyn finished her account about the furniture.

She said that when she and her sisters closed their parents’ home, they wondered what should be done with the miniature furniture. Many of Dr. Carolyn’s past patients and their parents may know what became of that furniture because they may remember having seen it in her office. Today, much of the furniture has been passed down to a great niece.

No matter where the furniture actually is today, it is forever in Dr. Carolyn McKinley’s memories as she first saw it on that Christmas of 80 years ago.

Jimmy Lowe writes a regular weekly column for the Glasgow Daily Times. It appears Thursdays on the Advice & Features page.

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