As I was putting away my Christmas tree this weekend I decided to take a few minutes to photograph a few of my special ornaments. Why are these ornaments important? They are old, inexpensive, and maybe even a little broken.
My grandma, Jewell Wynn Dover had one of the early artificial trees. She always disliked the real cedar trees that my grandpa, Ellsworth Dover would drag in each year because of the mess. After he passed away, she took the opportunity to purchase an artificial tree. Thinking back on it and comparing it to what we have today, it seemed more like a Charlie Brown tree. It was wooden pole in the center and had slots for each individual limb to be placed. Of course, you then had to add lights and decorations.
Grandma’s decorations were a hodge podge of items. Man, if only I could go back and ask her where they all came from. This I do know, anything we wanted to put on that tree was ok. I definitely recall that there were some ornaments that were off the back of the cereal box, you would cut them out and then fold them according to the directions. There was also the construction paper bell that I made in 3rd grade that was always on the tree, and various breakable balls, bells, etc.
When my grandma passed away there was an auction of household goods and when the box of Christmas ornaments came up, I stepped right up and purchased the prized family heirlooms. LOL there may have only been one bidder. I picked through the box and kept the ornaments that were special to me. The 1970s era silk covered styrofoam balls were a mess and not salvageable, but my construction paper bell was in perfect condition.
So this year, I’m sharing with you the picture I could find from Christmas past showing my grandma’s tree and the priceless heirlooms that still make it to my tree every year. The bird no longer hangs on the tree, it’s too fragile and the tail has broken free. Oh if you are curious about the bobby pins, those are original to grandma’s tree. They worked really well holding the ornaments on the tree then, and they still do.
Just a thought, maybe next year ask those grandkids to make you a special item to hang on your tree. It’s a memory they will not forget! I still have the construction paper bell.
