Some Most Memorable Christmases
ONE Christmas often stands
out above all others in
our memories—sometimes for
gladness, sometimes for sad
ness. Here are some personal
narratives describing “My
Most Memorable Christmas”
MAMIE EISENHOWER
'pHE FIRST Lady ot the Land,
* Mamie Eisenhower, says her
most memorable Ctir-'m- was
in 1943. in the
darkest days
of World War
II. when she
was told that
Gen. Eisen
newer would
be coming
nome secretly
around New
Year’s Eve ol
that year.
Mrs. Eisen
"onsfders “the EISENHOWER
news of the general’s return
Home the best Christmas gift
she ever received.
According to Alden Hatch in
•Red Carpet for Mamie” (Henry
Holt), she was waiting for the
general in her apartment, ad
loinmg the apartment of Ruth
Butcher in the Wardman Park
Hotel in Washington. Long past
midnight the two women heard
muffied laughter in the back
haMway The general and his
aide, Harry Butcher, were ran
sacking the kitchens of both
apartments, eating all. the raw
opens they could find.
When discovered, each was
carrying a tiny puppy—belated
Civ st mas gifts for the children.
"Ike was so excited.” Mamie
has recounted, "he could hardly
speak In a strict personal way
this brief home coming, this
chance ttf see again the people
he loved so much and had
missed so sorely, meant more to
him than all the honors he had
received and the victories, he
was winning.
“I found out that he was to
be Supreme Commander of the
Allied Invasion Forces.”
After Eisenhower had spent
his leave in fast and furious
dashing from place to place in
curtained limousines and dodg
ing in and out of back doorways
visiting his son. John, at the
Military Academy at West Point
and borrowing Gen. Marshall’s
house at White Sulphur Springs,
he was about to leave Mamie
said to him:
“Don’t come back till it’s over
1 can’t stand losing vou again.”
By WALTER PIDGEON
MY MOST memorable Christ
mas was on a desolate ice
cap called Greenland. 1 went
there in 1951. when that frozen
section of the world enioved its
usual status *
quo — < dead
ly. dreary,
monotonous
succession of
nothing evei
happening
with weather
viewed with
disfavor even
b v d o 1 a r
bears.
. There we
found young
Americans Walter PlDGEON
sentenced to a
Siberia-like existence, without
even the alarms and excitement
of a shooting war to keep them
distracted
In Greenland—with nowhere
ti go, nothing to d.o. less to see
—a day off was spent in the
luxuriou idleness of staying in
bed.
And vet the spirit which
greeted us was as vital as any
we had encountered in other
areas wher» G.i.'s were sta
tioned. The traditional Christ
mas tree : shipped from Amer
ica). the makeshift ornaments
and turkey and trimmings cre
ated the Christmas spirit. Only
the usuai G.l iokes made us
realize that here were Ameri
cans. as full of the real Christ
mas spirit as Tiny Tim.
By SPENCER TRACY
I REMEMBER one Christmai
' when it seenru d as though I
"-'if- no blessings for which to
Why Children Should Be Taught
Yuletide’s Religious Meaning
BY BISHOP IVAN LEE HOL1
President World Methodist Council
["HE SECOND Assembly 01 the World Coun
cil of Churches emphasized the necessity of
Christian nuture in these words:
'One 01 th" most important
• Evangelistic frontiers is that
jf childhood and youth. Every
new generation requires the
fresh presentation of the gos
pel. Among the most impor
tant methods in Christian nur
ture are the techniques de
veloped in Sunday schools,
youth programs and. not least
Christian training in the
home ”
There is a constantly lad
ing emphasis on religious
teaching in the home. A child
went from a wealthy home in
an Eastern city to a neighboring Sunday school.
He heard there some wonderful things about
Jesus and began to announce his new discovery
to playmates and adults, whom he met. He was
surprised to find that others had heard about the
man he had just come to know.
A public school teacher told me about an
experience in her school room. She had a pri
mary grade and as Christmas was approaching
she asked the children to draw something sug
gested by Christmas. She had to use her imagi
nation in seeing what the children had drawn,
because she did not want to ask a child what
it was Coming to one little girl’s drawing she
said. “I see vou have drawn the child Jesus in
the manger, and here is Mary sitting by him.”
Whereupon the little girl said, “That is not
Mary That is a baby-sitter Mary and Joseph
have gone to a cocktail party "
Ignorance on the Campus
1 was on the campus uf one of our largest
western universities during religious emphasis
week. As 1 was interviewing one after another
of a leading sorority group, I asked a girl what
God meant to her Her reply was, “1 have never
in my life thought about it.” Through her re
plies to further questions I learned that she had
never been inside a church, and she was sure
that neither her father or mother had ever gone
to a service of worship.
This religious illiteracy in our better Amer
ican homes is appalling. One of our distinguished
juvenile court judges in America has been
quoted as saying. "Among the thousands of
boys and girls before me I have never had one
who had known any real religious training in
the home "’ •
Christianity is contending today with Commu
nism and secularism for man’s soul. The Presi
dent of the United States in one of his greatest
addresses insisted that we need more than mili
tary might to stop the advance of Communism,
and that we can never stop it by a defeat of
1 Russia on the battlefield. We must meet the
thrust of communism by the counter thrust of a
gieat spiritual movement A Soviet leader once
said, "We do not need to l'eai any nation in the
world, nor any organized church If Christians
were to oecome more Christian, then the days
of Communism might be numbered.”
One night in Rangoon a year ago I saw burn to
the ground a village of 12.001) Burmese, ref
ugees from Communist terrorists. Heart heavy
with the stark tragedy. 1 saw against the night
sky the golden dome of the great Buddhist
temple and recalled ’ho words of a Burmese .
leader, "Communists may overrun our country :
but that which will Drevent the domination of
communism is our growing revival of interest
in our Buddhist religion.'
The Real American Enemies
In our America the zeal enemies ol the Amer j
lean wav of life are not the few Communists
discovered in Congressional investigations, but
the millions o. our people indifferent to things ,
of the spirit. The children in our homes could
be so taught as to change the materialistic cli
mate in our land
Suppose we start now to send our children
to Sunday schools and parish schools and places
ot religious instruction. Suppose we create more
of a religious atmosphere in our homes. We may
not gather them around us as in "The Cotter’s
Saturday Night” for a long evening of Bible
reading and prayer, oecause the family is so
scattered, but we can say a word of thanks to
God at the table, and teach our children to sav
simple orayers of trust.
As Christmas comes we have the finest oppor
tunity of the year to stress the deeper mean- !
ing of God's coming into our lives We will be I
thrilled by the laughter and songs about the
Cnristmas tree, but we can also recall the birth
day of the Christ-child and His meaning for our
Uvpc
A Favorite Christina; Story
A favorite Christmas story of mine is that ot
the little boy who went to the country for
Christmas with his mother and father. The
father, a famous surgeon, was determined that
his son should not be taugh Christmas myths.
The grandmother and the nurse had told the
boy the familiar Christmas legends.
On Christmas Eve the father was called away
to see a sick person, and on his return at mid
night he found his little boy in the barn waiting
to see if the animals would kneel at midnight.
Early on Christmas morning the little boy
took nis father to the edge of the well fo show
him a star mirrored on the surface of the water
“See, Daddy, the Christmas Star.” The father
replied, “Yes. Son, Daddy sees it and he will ;
never lose the star again.”
Children with a real sense of spiritual val
ues could grow up in our homes—and they
could lead us to such appreciation that we
might create a spiritual movement that would
save our American way of life and our Chris
tian civilization.
At Christmus let’s rake our children’s hands
and renew our dedication to religious values.
rejoice. And except 101 one triend
of long standing, those near and
dear to me seemed verv far away
indeed.
It was the Christmas ot 1921
1 was m New York trying to get
a job as an actor. Just out ol
school, 1 had left my home in
Milwaukee and traveled to the
big city It seemed the logical
place to go il vou wanted to
start an acting career
Only Broadway didn’t seem to
care if Spencer Tracy got started
on the stage or not. I made the
I rounds every day. but I seldom
even got an interview at the
casting offices
I might have struck out. ex
cept for a friend ot mine His
name was Pat O’Brien. We’d
grown up together in Milwau
kee and we were both in the
same boat that Christmas He
wanted to be an actor and was
having as little luck as 1 was
We were sharing a room in a
oi ownstone-front house in the
west 40s We lived on hot dogs
and soda pop and tried to keep
warm with an oil-burning stove
On Christmas eve we spent our
last dollar on fuel to keep the
room from freezing
Fortunately, a friend ot Pat's
had invited us to Christmas din
ner, so it didn’t look as though
we’d starve. But it was a pretty
bleak holiday—until 6 o’clock
in the evening.
A boy delivered a telegram
It was from the Theater Guild,
offering me a part in a new play.
“R.U.R" Rehearsal' were to
'tart the dqv after f’-'istmas.
I D'aved a rob”* —f had only
four lines. But it was my first
part on tile prolessionai stage,
and 1 couldn’t have been hap
pier. Do you wonder why I re
member that Christmas of 1921"'
By IRENE DUNNE
/"'HRISTMAS should have nigh
excitement, surprise or spir
itual reward 1 can recall one
that held all three. It happened
when 1 was 8. There is only one
reason I remember it so well.
I was mis
erable I had
he mumps
Mumps are
10 joke at any
:me But to
m 8-vear-old
who came
town with
them lust be
tore Christ
mas. they are
a tragedy the
end of the
IRENE DUNNE world
i was in ocd. and no one could
come near me: no visitors from
among my playmates, no triends
or relatives—no one What was
worse i was haunted bv the
conviction that even Santa Claus
would avoid this house of con
tamination. and I would never
see the beautiful doll carriage I
had my heart set on.
But when Christmas morning
came, the carriage was there
when I was momentarily per
mitted to leave my bed for one
brief peek at the tinseled tree. I
cried that morning—tears of
joy. and of gratitude to Santa
Claus, who. for my sake had
risked catching the mumps. I
JUD* OAKLAND
''pHE MOST memorable Christ
* mas in Judy Garland’s event
filled life was the one she spent
with her husband and 12 strang
ers aboard a Hollvwood-to-New
York train
It took place in 1952 when
Judy and her husband. Sid Luft.
had boarded the train on Christ
mas Eve to hurry to New York
for a business appointment.
“I brought Sid’s and my pres
ents and a Christmas tree to our
drawing room." Judv recalled.
"The tree was decorated oy
the time the train reached Po
mona and we began opening
presents at about San Bernar
dino Both of us were rather
blue at having to be away from
home and the children over the
holidays.
“Only 12 other passengers were
on the train. 1 kept the door
open and pretty soon they had
all dropped in and gathered
around the tree Some brought
small gifts and things to eat,
and we sang and played records
most of the night. Under ordi
nary circumstances we might
never have spoken to each other,
but the loneliness of travelers
adrift from families and homes
at Christmas had brought us to
gether.
“I never thought 1 would cher
ish the memory of spending the
Yuletide with strangers, but I
think this was one of my most
heart-warming Christmases.This
Christmas I will spend with Sid
and our children in our new
hnuso and 1 know it will be
a happy one.”
By LILY PONS
'VHK MOST wonderful Christ
A mas present I ever received?
That is easv I'll never forge!
when 1 walked
into our New
York living
oom. My hus
iand. Andre
Kostela n etz
i n d I each
lave a table
which we cov
er with a spe
cial cloth so
'hat while we
each arrange
lily pons >ur gifts, the
11 h e r won't
- •<’ what they are
Well, that particular Christmas
morning, walked into the room
and on my table sat what looked
like a luge oriental statue, con
cealed sy i table cloth. You see.
1 collect oriental ob/ets d'art.
and for a horrible moment I
thought Andre, who is wildly
extravagant had managed to
buy an incredibly expensive Chi
nese Goddess which I had ad
mired at a recent auction. Buy
ing this -tame would have nieanl
almost bankruptcy
Gingerly. I walked up to Uie
table and with shaking hands
withdrew the table cloth from
the motionless figure There, as
suming the pose of a Buddha, sat
my mother whom Andre had
brought over from Paris as a
surprise gift for me’
B> BOB HOPE
IN 1949, Dolores and 1 were fix
ing up a Christmas festival at
home with the kids—our first in
several years. We vowed that
nothing would be allowed to
sideswipe our Dlans
On the eve
ning of Dee.
23. 1 was wip
ing makeup
from my face
in my dress
i n g room
when the
ohone rang. It
was Stu Sy
mington. sec
retary of the
Air Force
calling from
Washington
He wanted me
to fly with him
to Alaska and entertain the
troops, frozen in up there for
the holidays, 1 gave him all the
reasons why it couldn’t be done
this time But 1 knew I was go
ing 1 knew it all the time.
‘ Hold on. Stu. w'hile I call
Dolores on the other ohone.” 1
said.
After 1 told hei about it, she
said. “But what about our plans?
What about the children?”
I repeated this to Stu Dolores
waited
“Take Dolores and the chil
dren with you.” Stu suggested.
That's all we needed. Christ
mas in Alaska, with the kids.
Next morning. Stu nicked us
up in a Constellation.
We did 11 shows in two and a
naif days. But the big thrill
came at Eilson Air Base on the
tip of Alaska near the North
Pole. Wj went to midnight mass
on Christmas eve. along with
thousands of G.I.’s.
When mass ended, the G.l.s
assembled outside the church
and gave me an ovation. Songs,
cheers and tears from those kids,
thousands of miles from home,
simply broke me up
Who was I to rate this? 1
asked myself And vet they made
me feel like some saint—a saint
with a lumpy Adam’s apple tied
up into a neat bow-knot.
WITH SINCERE WISHES
FOR A
MERRY CHRISTMAS
AND A
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Mayor, Nome City Council.
Fire & Police Departments
City Offices