I don't consider myself as being a pioneer, but I was raised in the early "40's -50's" when things were much simpler than today. As children, we had to use our imagination in our play and be creative with what was around us. I don't remember getting toys from town too often so Christmas was special. Our tree was a cedar cut from some fence row, decorated with a few glass balls and icicles, kept from year to year and probably taken from the discarded tree used at the church program. Mama usually allowed $5.00 each for the limit on what she could spend on her two children's gifts. My gifts might have included "store bought" paper dolls, a jigsaw puzzle, and a baby doll. Dolls she could afford in those days usually had heads made of compressed sawdust so it was no wonder that I longed for a prettier doll; however, I don't remember ever not liking what Santa brought to me.
The following is an excerpt from my book, In the Shade of the White Oak:
Outside the theater, Charlotte waited in line to get on the school bus. She turned around, and there, in a window next to the theater, was the most beautiful doll she had ever seen! She was wearing a white satin wedding gown. Spread out all around her were clothes of every kind: pants and shirts, a coat with a fur collar, flannel pajamas, and a red taffeta evening dress. The doll had silky blonde hair and blue eyes with long lashes
Charlotte tugged at Wanda Sue's hand. "Oh look at that beautiful doll! Wouldn't you love to have a doll like that?"
A sign near the doll had these words: Win this beautiful doll! Buy a chance on her today! 25 cents per chance!...
Charlotte thought about nothing else but the doll the rest of the afternoon. She told Mama how pretty it had looked...Whenever Mama had seen the doll, she said to Charlotte, "You didn't tell me someone is selling chances on the pretty doll. We don't buy chances on things. If we spend money we have to make sure we're getting something for it."...
Have a wonderful day, and stay warm!
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