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About The Dade County times. (Trenton, Ga.) 1908-1965 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 24, 1959)
The Old Homeplace Looked Dready ... But It Caused Several Hearts to Glow By Phil O’Neill A tall lacy finger of smoke reached skyward the old red brick chimney, ob¬ scured by the glack-green which had become thicker by year. The old place looked the as it had looked for nearly month of winters, but it more than just winter. It Christmas week. And it was usual, for thefre were no oi Christmas. For 27 years the white board house, wtih its funny diamond shaped window had literally shouted Christmas” with its In every window there was a wreath with its tiny electric candle and the two umns at the entrance were twined with laurel rope. And the front hall, visible from road, stood the big tree, glittering with lights THOSE DARN LIGHTS Some of the lights were some ducks, some birds, blende with them were of lights which glowed only all the bulks were good. On previous Christmas sons, the woman of the went through the daily task seeking out the burned bulks, screwing in good until the bad ones were And as she went from light i Dade Gas Company Trenton, Ga. THE />ADE COtMhr TIMES, TRENTON, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1959 light, she muttered about never again buying other set of lights like because they were so much trouble. But year in, year out, the were placed on the tree and the bad bulk search ritual place. Inside the house, on all the previous Christmases, t n e r were boughs of holly and pine and mistleto. Benmd pictures, on the mantle, basked on tne book cases. And on the bay- wmaw seat was tne manager ocene, witn white plaster show¬ ing tnrough the ilecked paint ox Josephs robe and the kneel¬ ing wise man with a missing ioot, and the odd little sheep witn a match-stick for a back held on by tape. A SPECIAL MEANING Why, in Heaven’s name don’t you get new figures and throw these old broken nes away," they’d ask her. “It’s not so much how they look as what they mean,” she vvuld answer. “And each of these something special.” She’d point them out and tell about why they were broken. The various children had their favorites and in helping set them out, had broken them. Be¬ sides, from a distance, it looked more natural than the shiny new ones would look. The silent man, leaning on the wrought iron fence mentally re-lived little sketches of many, Sheriff Allison Blevins Lift up your voice in sons, lift op your hearts and rejoice with us at this time when peace and good will should reign throughout the Christian world. Rejoice! SALLY’S BEAUTY SHOP ESSAY WINNER—Miss Carol Gray wen top honors this year In the soil conservation essay ontest for high school students many Christmas seasons in that cid house. As dusk melted into darkness, he was startled as a light came on in the drawing room—and it aired him back into the pre¬ sent. He wondered if the new fam¬ ily in the house would love it vs he had. LINES RECALLED He had insisted on driving out to the old place alone, when he telephoned his wife from the agency. He glanced at his watch and turned away to the car. And as he drove back into the city he had many thoughts. He recalled the lines from a classic he had read in Modern Lit 403 at col¬ lege that went something like “Miissinig a loved one need not be sad, for its joy to remember their good deeds,” Or is that what his mother had told him as she lay dying last summer? He wasn’t sure whether she said it, or if he had read it. As he turned into the drive¬ way, the porch light flashed on and as he walked up the steps, his wef said, “Thank goodsess you’re home, I’ve worried. You’re late.” COFFEE REFUSED As he removed his coat, she poured hot coffee and smiled as she handed it to him. She was startled when he re¬ fused it. “Not now,” he said, then asked her to bring is the child¬ ren as he cleared the hearth stone of its brass ornaments and wicker magazine basket. He went to the basement and returend with a box and as the children and his wife sat about the fireplace he told the story of Christmas, as he placed each little figure in its proper place. When he had finished, he led the group in a simple sentence To oil we have served during the past year and all those we hope to serve in the coming year we extend our best wishes for 19v0. MILLIE BALLARD GROCERY Avans, Georgia ISSEIM# m * m ... 4 IQBQ ■mm jpr l\! m / X' • 6 - / /1 \ i - k . i i 4 h: i'i til 336 cuui L..j u rejoice snsw at the eternal glory anj beauty of His birth ano all It means to men every¬ where. Grace H. Williams Clerk of Court prayer and the somewhat amazed children then trecked back upstairs. His wife looked at him through misty eyes and smiled, “That’s just the way she always did it. It was beautiful. But tomorrow, I’m going to buy ( a complete new set, these ...” He interrupted, “It’s not so much how they look as what they mean.” SIPS COLD COFFEE As he sipped the cold coffee he yelled to his wife, who had gone to the kitchen to bring in their dinner, “It was a classic that I read it and it goes: ‘The mountain to the climber Is clearer from the plain.’ ” She stuck her head into the room and said, “Yes, I remem¬ ber that, it’s from that book I gave your mother last Christ¬ mas . . . the one she was read¬ ing on the night she died." He felt warm and pleased with himself that he could remember so much that was good. We wish you, your family and our many friends the traditional joys of an old- fashioned! Christmas. and Mrs. Arthur W. Peck Fuel Oil for Heating R. W. Suggs & Son Standard Oil Products Glad greetings and best wishes for the Holiday. Smyth T elevision Service Ham & Turkey Shoot Russell Hester’s Farm Rising- Fawn Dec. 24-25 Free shells $1 per shot Everyone welcome /. V. Jenkins County Treasurer
