Helen Remembers: Trimming the Christmas Tree By Helen H. Hill The older I get the faster the time seems to go. Preparations for Thanksgiving have already come and gone, the turkey carcass needs to be turned into soup and the Indian corn has got to come down from its perch on the front door. While I’m at it, all the little pumpkins out front are going to be processed into pulp for winter pies. The cycle keeps moving just like it did when I was a kid. We always started our decorating for Christmas with the outdoors. Dad would get out the ladders and several of us helped to swag garlands twisted with white lights from the porch cornice. Others would go into the woods to get red berries, greens, pine boughs and fresh pine cones which we would stick into barrels that just months ago were brimming with petunias, snapdragons and nasturtiums. Mother would bring the big red bows down from the attic and place them in strategic positions on porch columns and barrels. Decorating was always a family affair. One year we even won first place in the town decorating contest. The absolute best tree Once the outside was finished, we’d get started inside the house. We always put up our tree about the first week of December. All of us would pile into the station wagon on a Saturday morning and head for grandmother’s wood lot where we’d take great pains over selecting the absolute best tree. She had about ten acres to the side and rear of her farmhouse and there were lots of choices. Sometimes we’d select a spruce; other times we’d pick a balsam fir; but we always ended up tying the tree on the roof of our vehicle and rushing right home. Dad would set the tree in the stand and cold water would be poured into the base to keep it fresh. The big box of ornaments was brought down from the attic and mother would put Christmas carols on the hi-fi to get us in the mood. We’d string the lights over and under the branches to the strains of Perry Como singing Hark the Herald Angels Sing or Bing Crosby in his rendition of Silent Night. It’s kind of amusing that after all the Christmas music that has been recorded over the years, I still listen to these same artists with the addition of Johnny Mathis’ Christmas album, one of the favorites produced by my generation. Mother usually served cocoa and sandwiches which were heaped onto platters so that we could help ourselves as we worked. Once the lights were on, everybody wanted to assist, but since many of our ornaments belonged to my grandmother and great-grandmother and were very fragile, some of the littlest siblings were kept busy making paper chains, strings of popcorn and cranberries and other homemade ornaments. One year mother helped everybody make Santa Claus ornaments out of wooden clothespins with the spring closure. We colored them red, painted a face at top, and glued a cotton beard in place. Red paper hats were made from construction paper, glued in place, and we had our Santa ornaments. Sometimes we’d use glue and glitter on pine cones, acorns or dried pomegranates. I think I still have a few of these from the old days. Glass ornaments of all shapes and sizes Opening the box of ornaments was like entering Aladdin’s cave. We had lots of pieces from the 20s and 30s when my grandmother was a new bride and we had all of her mom’s ornaments as well. When my parents got married, they purchased new Shiny Brite ornaments. They all seemed to work When the tree was completely decorated, we’d place a white sheet underneath to serve as a blanket of snow for the wrapped presents. We’d sit around with the lights low so that we could be dazzled by the beauty of our own handiwork. We’d add to our ornament collection each year, taking some with us as we moved into our own homes. But when I stop at mother’s to see how she’s doing with her own tree, I come across ornaments I handled 50 years ago. I love the familiarity of things from my childhood. I still put up a tree today and inherited some pretty fantastic ornaments over the years. They’ve been stored away in the same boxes for several decades and each year I go through the same ritual after carefully selecting my tree. I un-wrap my ornaments as if they were holy relics and carefully place each one on just the right branch. I play the same Christmas carols, use the very same angel on the top of my tree that my grandmother used for years, and I sit back and marvel over my expertise when the task is done. After all, this is the season for tree trimming. I wish all of you the very best for this season and the coming year. Montpelier Antiques Market Returns for Fourth Season MONTPELIER, VT - The Sunday Fall and Winter Montpelier Antiques Market returned to Montpelier’s Elks Country Club on Country Club Road in November. The show will run nine times, on the second and fourth Sunday of the month, with the exception of December, which will have one show only, on Sunday, Dec. 13. Held in a relaxed setting, dealers will be offering old furniture, primitives, art, ephemera, postcards, photographs, jewelry and other fresh merchandise picked from the New England area. Dates in 2010: Jan. 10 & 24; Feb. 14 & 28; March 14 & 28 Show hours: 7:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Admission: $5 for early buying at 7:30 a.m.; $2 for regular admission at 9 a.m. The Elks Country Club is located just outside of Montpelier, off Route 2 East, just past the rotary and intersection of Routes 2 and 302. For more information and/or a show contract, call show promoters Don and Cindy Willis at 802-7516138 or visit their newly-launched website at www. montpelierantiquesmarket.com. Helen’s old fashioned Christmas tree, adorned with vintage ornaments. Courtesy of Helen Hill. together beautifully on the same tree with paper and handcrafted pieces each of us had made over the years. The worn cartons held glass ornaments of all shapes and sizes. There were birds with spun glass tails, figural Santa Claus ornaments and snowmen. We had an angel on the top of our tree perched on a spun glass cloud pasted with silver stars. There were musical instruments, vegetables and fruits as well. There were strings of beads and usually a few bird nests. And the hand-painted indent ornaments were my favorites. Usually, they were pretty plain on the outside, but the indents were boldly colored and sometimes covered with sparkles. I also remember a very large ornament daubed with red, pink and orange splashes of paint. It got broken one year by a nephew who was eager to help, but just a little young to be trusted with such a treasure. In those days, the final step was to hang tinsel on the edges of each branch. Every year we would collect it carefully, put the strands back into their original boxes, and re-use them again the next year. I never really liked the tinsel and hated the job of collecting it. Proxibid’s Re-Branded Website Promises Enhanced Usability for Online Bidders OMAHA, NE - Proxibid, the leading provider of live auction webcasting services, has launched a newly-designed website, which reflects a well-defined brand image, as well as Proxibid’s commitment to maintaining its role as the industry’s most forward-thinking provider. With enhanced navigation and a much cleaner, fasterloading homepage boasting a simplified user experience, category-specific landing pages allow bidders to go directly to the content in which they are most interested, providing the most targeted online bidding environment available. Find fine art, antiques, collectibles and more online at Proxibid – www.proxibid.com. WANTED: BASEBALL COLLECTIBLES! Robert Edward Auctions, LLC consistently helps sellers realize more money for their quality baseball material. We offer comprehensive auction services with more than 30 years of unparalleled integrity, knowledge and experience in the field. When Barry Halper, the world’s greatest baseball collector, sold his legendary collection, he insisted that Robert Edward Auctions, LLC oversee the historic sale of his 26 million dollar collection. Robert Edward Auctions, LLC offers the largest circulation and greatest reach of any auction devoted to sports collectibles in the world. Plus, we have millions of dollars available specifically for interest-free cash advances for our consignors. If you have material you think might be of interest please call or write for a free appraisal. WE SPECIALIZE IN ALL AREAS OF BASEBALL COLLECTIBLES INCLUDING: P.O. Box 7256 • Watchung, NJ 07069 • phone: 908-226-9900 fax: 908-226-9920 ROBERT EDWARD AUCTIONS, LLC www.RobertEdwardAuctions.com • • • • • • • 19th & 20th Century Cards Autographs Memorabilia All 19th Century Baseball Items Uniforms World Series Items And more... Page 12, Northeast Antiques, December 2009 www.northeastantiques.com