Grant County Arkansas Christmas Memories

Grant County Christmas Memories

By Tracy Gilbert Brown

 Christmas comes with the sights, sounds, and smells of the season that carry a certain nostalgia, allowing us to relive the magical moments of our favorite Christmas memories.  One could be waking up Christmas morning to a blanket of freshly fallen snow.  But here, in Sheridan Arkansas, don’t count on that one!  Over the years you come to expect certain things about our town that bring such excitement and comfort as the season nears.  Can you truly say you don’t get a little excited when you see Christmas decorations laid out beside the light pole it will grace?  That generally triggers the feeling for me.  Yes, Christmas time is coming!

Which lead me to wonder, what are some of your favorite memories of Christmas in Grant County?  So I asked and received the following results from residents of our different towns and communities, as well as the children or employees of businesses in Grant County’s history.  I hope you enjoy their memories as much as I have!

Yvonne Fuell shares her memories of being an elementary student in Leola.  She states she rode the bus everyday to school as did Mrs. Albertice Deer, the first and second grade teacher.  Yvonne fondly remembers she was not only her teacher for the first two years of school, but a walking distance neighbor and member of her church.  She reflects sometime between Thanksgiving and the week before Christmas break, the bus would round the curve and they would see Mrs. Deer standing waiting to catch the bus.  In one hand she held all her supplies and books for the day, and in the other she would be holding the trunk of a real cedar tree she or Mr. Deer had cut off their land.  Most all of the trees put up at school were either cardboard on the bulletin board or a small artificial tree.  So the cedar tree was a special treat.

The day the real tree came in, everyone was involved with helping her pull out the old cardboard box that held one strand of lights, the old mismatched Christmas balls and the icicles, put on and off one at a time every year.  It was a magical time.  She would play music like jingle bells, deck the halls, and of course Rudolph the red nose reindeer.  But she always made sure everyone knew that the real magic of Christmas was the birth of the Baby Jesus, the Savior of our sins.  To make sure everyone knew this, the last thing she brought out was her old nativity figures, wrapped carefully each year in tissue and placed tenderly in the box.  Because of the special meaning, she never allowed any of us to get the nativity out or put it back in the box.

Pam Wingard remembers as a child growing up in Ico, she and her brother would walk the sides of the roads collecting soft drink bottles.  We would take our bottles to Whitmires to cash them in for the deposit money.  That’s where we would shop for Mom and Dad’s Christmas gift.  One year Dad was into playing golf and Mr.  Basil always had whatnots in the store.  We bought Dad a monkey statue holding a golf club.  That’s what we thought Dad looked like playing golf.  He got a big kick out of this.  Whitmire’s always had penny candies that we loved to buy!

I don't remember the station being decorated, but our home was next door and Mother loved to decorate for Christmas inside and out, recalls Leann Reynolds Hall discussing their home located next door to Okie T’s service station on Highway 270 west.  Each room seemed to have its own theme. One room had Christmas Villages, another had Nutcrackers, and another had Christmas Santa’s from around the world. Daddy would help her decorate by stringing the lights outside. Santa was always on the roof getting ready to go down the chimney. The yard was full of many Christmas decorations and they loved to buy new things each Christmas. The community would drive by to see the Christmas house and some kids even thought that Santa lived there!

When I was young, back in the 1950’s laughs Marva Winans, one of the first things you would see around Sheridan was all the merchants getting their windows washed.  This was because the painter was on his way. I remember instead of hanging decorations they had their windows painted with Santa’s, Christmas trees, elves, mangers, stable scenes with the animals and of course a big bright star.
I can’t recall the man’s name, but he did such a great job. The colors were so bright and pretty.
As a child I knew Christmas was coming when my Papa Smith would bring the groceries home after his egg route in town.  If there was a fresh coconut in the box, Mama Smith was getting ready to make her fresh coconut cake. (I can almost taste it now!) She would crack the coconut and peel out the meat.  Let it dry a little, and then grate it. It would not have been Christmas without that tall three layer cake with seven minute frosting covered with fresh coconut. You have to remember Sheridan was small town and we only got things like coconuts around Thanksgiving and Christmas, so it was a TREAT!

I guess my favorite memory of a Prattsville Christmas, states LeAnn Crutchfield, is that my mom would put out so many lights she would just leave them up around the house ALL year!  It was always easy to give directions to my house, the only one in town with lights all year long.  I think she would have left them on all year if my daddy would have allowed it! 

I also fondly remember our days in school at Prattsville.  Our elementary teachers would let us make decorations and decorate the rooms.  Usually we would have a live Christmas tree to decorate. We would have our Christmas party the day before Christmas break.  In my class, the girls would bring a girls gift and the boys would bring a boys gift.  Our teacher would tag them with numbers and we would draw a number from a bowl and that gift would be ours. We were served wonderful homemade goodies from our Moms, none of those store bought cookies. That was unheard of, thank goodness!

Avant’s grocery was open every day all year, according to Pam Avant Torres.  My parents Woodrow and Jeanette Avant worked from daylight to dark up there.   I do remember that they'd close the store and spend the whole day at home with us on Christmas. Just the family spending time together was so special! I do remember occasionally after hours, that we'd ride around Sheridan to look at the pretty lights and decorations. We may not have had a lot under the tree on Christmas morning, but my family spending the day together made for wonderful Christmas memories that will last forever!! That's the best present anyone could ask for.

He’s not sure of the year, but had to be sometime in the late 60's.  You always knew it was getting close to Christmas when the City put the decorations on the street-light poles, offers Gary Pinson.  That meant the time was closer for the Rockwell (now Kohler) employee Christmas party.  I was always fascinated him when Santa would show up!!  

I honestly don't remember whose idea it was to make them, reflects Janet Baker Ward, regarding the Santa and Reindeer displayed annually on the Courthouse lawn.  Daddy was always good at making things out of wood.  If you could say he had a passion, it was making things.  I'm sure someone asked him if he could do it, and he mulled it around in his mind till he had the 'blueprint'.  He started working for the county when I was around 16 years old for Judge Veo Easley.  I think that would have been 1975-76. 

In checking with Laurette Williamson with the County Judge’s office the Santa and Reindeer display is over 30 years old.  When the pieces have needed repainting, the high school art class generally assists with that.  In addition the Nativity scene is over 30 years old as well and a treasured piece of our county’s history.

Christmas is a special holiday states Ray Vance, and I’m eager to share some of my most vivid and treasured thoughts.  My first impulse is to share my own family’s personal experiences.  Even though those memories are precious to me, they might not stir the same emotions in others.  Therefore, I would have to choose nostalgia as my second choice and one most folk can relate to. 

When I was a child, my family would make the nightly tour by Rupert Dortch's home, former City Marshall of Sheridan.  He was the Sheridan equivalent of the modern day Jennings Osborn.  His light display was always mesmerizing as a child for me and my brothers.  As I think about it, how much can be said about a 1960 light show considering the complexity and sophistication of modern day displays? 

I’d have to say my favorite memory from my youth to today would be of my Church.  It is where, with values, I was raised and taught the real meaning of Christmas.  A standout memory would be the time Ms. Bernice McCool caught me and my cousin Dickey Whitaker running down the hall during skit practice.  She immediately snatched us up and gave us both a good shellacking before explaining why we were in trouble.  She explained to us, we were in a Holy place and out of respect for our Savior this was not the place to be running.  At the age of six I thought she was the meanest woman on the planet, but now I know she was trying to teach us in a way we would understand and remember.  I'm not saying we would not have received the same message with a stern reprimand, but I feel the shellacking just cemented it in our thought process from that day forward. 

I remember with pride how it was to stand on that little stage wearing my dad’s old bath robe and one of moms best towels wrapped tightly around my head turbine style. I held a starring role as a wise man and nervously repeated the lines Ms. Bessie McCool had instructed us to memorize.  It was her prayer we might get through the first few lines without her prompting us from the side lines.  Then there was Denita Hale scooping up a cotton ball that had fallen off her sheep costume and tossing it in her mouth.  Instantly her mother Clover Hale was rushing on stage to retrieve it before she could gulp it down.  I remember the Ford girls having to fill in as Sheppard’s because we didn’t have enough boys for the roles.  They had to hold hands to keep Katie from retrieving her favorite baby doll during the manger scene.  In later years I watched with pride when our children were actors repeating this same sacred story.  Today’s society refers to them as cantatas or programs.

A fellowship meal always followed the play.  I remember those meals, oh how I remember the meals!  Why there was enough food to feed half of Sheridan.  I'm not talking about stove top stuffing here; I'm talking about the best homemade chicken and dumplings from Ms. Geraline Graves, cakes and pies from Hazel Wilson.  There were yeast rolls big as your fist, shinning from their delicate coating of butter baked golden brown by Hazel O'Steen.

These are my most treasured memories of Christmas, the celebration we share as family not just brothers, sisters, moms and dads but a Church and Church Family.  It’s a love that has been passed down from generation to generation.  The same one I learned in my starring role as a wise man and the one I am still celebrating to this very day.  As time has passed, Christmas has become more and more commercialized and less personalized.  The presents are great, but to save my life I cannot remember what I got the Christmas Ms. Bernice caught me running down the hall.  I do remember what that skit was about, what it meant to me then and what it still means to me today.  Make your own memories of Christmas but don't lose sight of what Christmas is.  Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ.  May God bless you now and in the years that come.  Merry Christmas everyone from the Vance and Little Creek Church family!        

My parents, Dean and Verna Thomason operated the Sears store at the corner of Main and Center streets in downtown Sheridan, reveals Janet Rhodes.  I loved working with my parents. One year I remember a lady running in saying she needed help!  She had wrapped EVERY present she had purchased and now she needed Santa's help!  My Dad just laughed as he took her to the box of returns and helped her look for children gifts to purchase. He even threw in some packets of gum and candies he had on his desk.  She was a lot happier going out than she was coming in.  My mom was always so busy taking care of all of the paperwork, orders and indoor sales doing all of this with a smile on her face.  Though we did spend a lot of time at the store, Mom and Dad always had found time to spend with Franklyn and me and gave us wonderful Christmas memories.  As busy as she was, Mom would make time to practice her organ and get her Christmas music ready for church.   In the mid 70’s I remember Kelly Erstine a part-time worker playing Santa for us, as well in the early 80’s when Jimmy Wimberly took on the role.   In the late 80’s Sheridan began having the Old Time Christmas, which I guess would be my favorite memory at the store.  Our scene was my Grandma Bertha Taylor dressed in old time clothing and bonnet, sitting in the front window with her great grand kids; Traci Rhodes, dressed similarly, Jeremy and Josh Thomason around her. Traci and Josh were stringing popcorn for the tree and Grandma was crocheting. Jeremy would serve hot apple cider and cookies to the guests in the store.

Davis Creek Church in Prattsville, offers Elizabeth Cooper McNutt, has been the center of most Christmas memories for our community.  In the late 40’s to early 50’s, about a week or so before Christmas, the men and boys would locate the largest cedar tree in the community.  Using a crosscut saw they would cut down the tree and load it in a horse-drawn wagon driven by the late John E. Clegg or Mr. Jim Clegg and deliver it to the church for decorating and displaying.

While the men were searching for the tree, the women and children would spend hours at the church making it’s decorations.  These decorations were hand made using cotton from the cotton fields, holly berries, and colorful chains cut from crepe paper.  As the tree was decorated, the women and children would practice carols and their parts for the upcoming program. 

The annual Christmas Eve Program itself was full of tradition with songs, poems, and plays based directly from the Bible organized or authored by the late Mrs. Annie Cooper and Beatrice Cooper.   It also featured homemade costumes such as angel wings and crowns.   The program could become quite lengthy back then and the building quite cold as the only source of heat was one pot-bellied wood stove. 

In later years, store bought books assisted with the Christmas program.  These were provided by the late Mrs. Ida Clegg, Mrs. Willie McCollum, Mrs. Enda Green and the twins Mrs. Lea Clegg and Ms. Lena Pumphrey as well as Mrs. Estelle Clegg, who is still celebrates with us today at the age of 92. 

The program ended with a Christmas gift exchange.  Each family brought its own gifts and placed under the tree.   Different adults took turns calling the names of the receivers and the gift givers and then all would open them.   

While folks happily departed, mischievous boys of all ages threw fire crackers outside frightening the girls causing them to run and hide. These fun times will be remembered for years to come and shared with future generations.

County Judge Kemp Nall remembers the arrival of Santa in Sheridan from his youth.   Santa always rode into town on the back of a fire truck, waving happily to all the excited children gathered at the court square.  He gave out brown paper bags filled with an apple, orange, nuts and some peppermint candy.  This treat for our county children was sponsored by organizations such as the local Jaycee group.

Bobbie Windham worked at Grant County Bank around four years.  She recalls how they worked by hand because computers were just being placed in the big banks at that time.  We used a posting machine and if the employee posted an error during the day, it caused us to be out of balance.  If that occurred we had to look back through the ledgers until the error was found.  Each account had a separate ledger sheet. I enjoyed working in that position but the most recent one hired usually was put in that position.  If we were out of balance, no one could leave so one Christmas Eve we worked up until 6:30 p.m.!  She remembers each year at Christmas the employees would go somewhere for dinner and were given a small bonus.  There was one year we didn’t get a bonus though; it was a bad year for the bank.  Some of her co-workers would have been Betty Pruitt, Mary Jordan, Janet Pumphrey, June Herrington, Diane Hope, Olga Winkle Swaty, and Sue McCoy.  Eddie McCoy was President of the bank and Harold Boatright, Vice President.   

A favorite memory, Kaye Rogers recalls, was of my Father, Bro. Cecil Shepherd calling all the little children down on Sunday morning at Lost Creek Baptist Church.  During Christmas the church was adorned in beautiful red poinsettias.  Dad would tell the children about the Christmas flower, the Poinsettia. I still treasure his outline and would like to share it.

His lesson was titled God Gives Us Many Things to Remind Us of Jesus and was taken from Luke 2:11 Subject: Poinsettia Plant.  This is something you see a lot during Christmas. Lots of shops have them as decorations. People give them to friends as Christmas presents. This plant is called a Poinsettia plant. It has colors of Christmas, red and green, sometimes it is called the Christmas flower.   There are some interesting things about this flower that makes us think of Jesus.

First, it blooms in the winter when most of the other flowers are dead. Christmas comes in the winter time for us, so when we see this pretty plant we think of Jesus' birth. Second, the red part of the plant is not really a flower but like the green it is just leaves. This reminds us of Jesus in the manger and Him growing up and dying on the cross. When we see the red we think of His shed blood.  Third, the yellow makes us think of the star. The brightness reminds us of His great love for us.  Isn't the flower beautiful? God created it and He also created you and me. He loves us and gave His son Jesus for us.

Dad had the children came down every Sunday for their own special Bible lesson.  He would sit on the steps of the platform and the children would sit around him.  He would always close with a prayer and Mom would crank up the piano and Bro. Otis would get the choir and congregation singing Christmas carols while the kids went grinning back to their seats in the sanctuary sitting by their family or friends. There was always a Nativity scene on the alter table that Sarah Simpson had made. I have a picture with the kids surrounding Dad and the poinsettias in the background.

I have wonderful memories of working at Hendon's 5 & 10 store during Christmas in the early 60’s.  It was my first job other than babysitting, states Jo Nell Kelly.   The store was warm, cozy and decorated for the season.   They had a variety of things to choose from of course, as it was a variety store.  I treasure my early training in work ethic from Mr. Hendon.  He and Mrs. Hendon were the sweetest couple and very kind to their employees. 

Renee Lites Hix remembers the beautiful lights that were in the Ain Community near Grapevine.  I think it was my Uncle Noel that really started it.  Then my cousin Carlton Lites had a big display where he outlined his whole house and it actually looked like a post card.  My parents also decorated our home each year too.  There was always traffic coming down through the community to see the beautiful lights, including Dr. Irvin who would call my parents and tell them he was there to see the lights.  There are still a few in the community that decorate but the Lites' family went all out. I miss it so much now my Uncle Noel and my Dad JB have passed on.  It just seemed to kind of fizzle out when they died. There are still some lights in the community but the really pretty ones are all packed away in Rubbermaid totes and waiting on another generation to takeover.

My Grandfather, Fibber McGhee always did his part to ensure every one of his customers had a good Christmas dinner.  In planning for the upcoming season and potential extra sales, Grandpa would order whole chickens and pack them on ice in wax-coated boxes.  He only ordered hams if there was a customer request. Christmas day was the only day the Ice House ever closed, said Eddie Vance.   He would stock extra apples and mixed nuts as well.  I’d have to say my best memory would be his supply of candy canes.   If you stopped in for Gulf gas (60 to 75 cents per gallon for full service) or crushed ice, maybe just a cold soda buried deep in the chest under chunks of ice, he always gave the kids a candy cane.  It was his way of spreading good cheer.  Many of his customers were not wealthy by far and he would let them charge the groceries to feed their families especially during this time of year. 

Ann McDonald and Mary Thomason recall their father, Murvin Eagle Bradford of the East End community assuming the role of Santa.  After our Mom died in 1980, our Father, already adorned with white hair, grew a natural white beard and became a full time Santa, passing out peppermint candies year around.  Little ones would see him and shout "There's Santa Claus"!  He loved it and would pull out his wallet and show his Santa ID, authenticating his identity.  During the holiday season recalls Ann, he was in great demand at churches, libraries, daycare centers, family gatherings and I believe, even one time at the state capital. Many merchants had him back each year and he thrived on joy it brought to others.  He could also be found as Santa at grocery stores but he seemed to favor the places where children were numerous.  He loved the magic of their smiles when Santa arrived.  I believe he was at Sear’s and the Grant County library a number of times as well, Mary recalls.  His oldest great grandchild, Thomas Burchfield, used to call him Ho, Ho!  Daddy put his red suit on in December 2000 but could not complete the season as heart problems forced him into the hospital for the remainder of the season.  He passed away in January 2001.  Our brother Richard is now carrying on the Santa tradition in East End, and frequents various places Daddy entertained as well. 

When I think of Christmas, I miss my Daddy even more.  He believed in God and family remembers Karen Dismuke of her father Charles Dismuke.  Each year at Christmas, he and my mother would host a big party for all of their NAPA parts store employees and their families.  It was a blessing to see my parents open their home and hearts to others.  The evening was filled with food, fun, love and laughter.  Even after I left home, I would always try to come back for the gathering with our special friends.

Highway 270 east was home to Ida’s Café from 1978 to 1987.  I was mainly known for my biscuits and gravy, recalls Ida Lantz, but we served breakfast, lunch and dinner.  My husband spent most of his life as a long distance trucker, so feeding the local truckers was my priority. On Christmas Eve I would stay open as long as I could to make sure even the long distance truckers coming through our area could get a hot meal.  She remembers one Christmas Eve in particular when a young trucker came in. He was from Oklahoma, and was trying to get home to his family for Christmas. He barely had enough money for gas to make it home and just wanted a cup of coffee. I knew he could use a meal so I fed him and my husband gave him a little money as things had been slow for everyone that month.  The smile on his face was worth it all and he left with a full belly headed home to see his family.  I miss those days, God bless our truckers!

When my little brother Dennis was in the first grade at Poyen Elementary, their Christmas play required elves.  My Mother, Helen Channell, like many of the other Mothers, was in charge of making their costume, states Penny Ashley.  In 1963-64 you couldn’t run to a costume store and pick one up.  So she dyed his T-shirt and underwear green to make his little costume.  Those boys were the cutest elves with their little ears sticking out around the edges of their hats, bare legs and their green glittered shoes!  Mrs. McCoy was our music teacher and helped with the annual Christmas play presented by the elementary students.  I could sing, so I was frequently put in the lead position.  We sang Away in a Manger, We Three Kings, Silent Night, songs that today are considered not appropriate to sing in school because of separation of church and state.  We carried the true meaning of Christmas in our musicals and plays.  This was a big event in Poyen and everyone came to this production to support the students.  One year while preparing for our play, it began snowing.  All of us were so excited because we knew we were getting out of school early to go play in the snow.  In 1969, I was chosen as Miss Grant County and was honored to sing at the lighting ceremony for the tree and Grant County Courthouse.  I sang O Holy Night.  The Courthouse lawn was full of people that night a tradition continues today with the Christmas on the Square.

My most vivid memories of Christmas concerts presented by the Sheridan School Band Program took place in the magnificent McKenzie Hall auditorium.  My brother, Len Cullins started beginning band when I was about 8 years old, states Leah Henderson.  The auditorium held a great deal of mystery and intrigue for me because I grew up hearing stories about my parent’s high school days in those very rooms.  Looking around the spacious room at the balcony and doorways above and the entrances to the passageway that ran underground, I could just imagine what it must have been like in 1957. I also remember no matter how big your coat was or how many layers you put on, the auditorium was always cold. 

The concert started with the beginner band and the room grew quiet when the director stepped up to the podium.   I remember the director tapping out the beat for one measure and then suddenly it sounded like a small army marching in as those students pumped their feet up and down to the beat on those hardwood floors.  There were always a few squeaks and missed notes, but their performance was a big hit with the parents and grandparents in attendance.  (I will admit that some of those squeaks came from those of us younger siblings who couldn’t resist the urge to rock in those old, wooden theater style seats.)  Later, as the concert drew to a close, I was always mesmerized by the beautiful melodies and harmonies produced by the Sr. High band as they brought popular Christmas songs to life. 

My closing memory is from the 70’s; It’s Christmas Eve night, we’ve just left Nanny and Papa’s (Hill and Edna Windham) and admired Mr. Okie T’s home all decorated with lights and Santa waiting by the chimney.  Momma suggested Daddy drive us around before we head home for the night.  Our streets are quiet as we drive through downtown Sheridan.  Otasco and Western Auto have long since closed their doors for the night as have other merchants along the main streets.  The radio is playing Silver Bells and it softly serenades us as we tour our little town.  Not a creature is stirring, there is no one around.  Sitting in my Mother’s lap my baby sister is exclaiming with glee pointing out all the pretty lights for us to see.  Even though we are enjoying the sights, my brother and I are so anxious to get home and in bed, because Santa Claus is coming tonight.

 There is nothing better than this feeling, to be with those you love at this special time of year, especially in a home town like ours.  May you all find the joy of Christmas as you celebrate the birth of Jesus with those you love.  Merry Christmas to all!