The Cherokeean. (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 140, No. 46, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 22, 1988 Page: 4 of 24
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PAGE FOUR-THE CHEROKEEAN OF RUSK, TEXAS-THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22,1988
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iA Texas Child's Christmas' told
By CATHERINE LINNEY
The William Roark Chapter of the
Daughters of the Republic of Texas
met Thursday, Dec. 15 at the
Southern Motel Restaurant in Rusk
for luncheon and business meeting.
Mrs. Henry L. Rose presented "A
Texas Child's Christmas," which
ATTENDING JUDGES SEMINAR are, from left, Buddy Lacy of
Jacksonville, Precinct 3; Bobby D. Caveness of New Summer-
field, Precinct 4; and Archie Cook of Rusk, Precinct 1. The
justices of the peace were among 102 justices attending the
20-hour seminar Nov. 29 to Dec. 2 at Longview.
l|appi|4|olidai|
May the holidays bring you every happiness.
Contractor's Supplies, Inc.
Loop 343, Rusk
303 Webber, Lufkin
Mfirn
May your holidays be bright, beautiful and
bountiful. We thank you for your pa onage.
GUN CABINETS
$31900
Glass & Brass
TABLES
«249
00 r¥r
and up
CURIO CABINETS
$1QQ00
x sJ\J and up
Buffet & Hutch
$23900
up
All
Pictures
20%
Rockers
20%
BUNK BEDS
$
179
00
SLEEPERS
Starting at
$44900
Berry & Clay Furniture
104 E. Fifth, Rusk Phone 214/683-4078
was given in the child's own words:
"Almost every grown person
remembers with a kind of tender
sadness the year he found out who
Santa Claus was, because after that
no Christmas was ever quite the
same. Something went out of the
heart and for the time being there
was nothing to put in its place.
"I was luckier than most: When
Santa Claus departed my life, Uncle
Edgar came into it in a new and
significant way. I had a whole
passel of uncles and aunts, some
only fair; but Uncle Edgar was the
one never mentioned at family
gatherings except in conversation,
when aunts referred to him as a
black sheep and uncles said that it
was time Ed settled down and quit
playing the fool. You see, my Uncle
Edgar was a cowboy. The family
had decided that when he grew up
he was to be a lawyer. Uncle Edgar
decided differently. He would turn
up at our house occasionly unan-
nounced in the middle of the night
and my mother would get up and fly
around changing the linens on the
guest room bed while my father
muttered condemnation. In the
morr'ng mother would have hot
popovers which she knew was his
favorite breakfast. You see, he was
mother's youngest brother, and she
was the only member of the family
who took up for him. I loved him.
Each time before he left he would
give me a dollar.
"The year I was six years old I
had been sent to my grandmother
while my mother and father made a
flying trip to St. Louis. My gran-
dmother expected to accompany
me home, but the day before
Christmas Eve she had come down
with sciatica and she could hardly
move. It was unthinkable that I
spend Christmas away from home -
- how would Santa know where to
find me? There was a great stir but
it was finally decided that I would
have to make the four-hour trip on
the train alone, entrusted to the
care of Mr. Smith, the conductor of
the Brazos Valiey & Central
passenger train. I looked forward to
the journey and was almost glad
that sciatica had come along.
"Uncle Whit put me on the train
and got me stilled in a red plush
seat, telling me not to move unless I
asked Mr. Smith. I originally had no
intention of obeying his orders once
I got out of sight. I had some hazy
no^pa tljatihe train would bcjull of
merry children about my age and
that I could run amok with no
grown-ups there to quell me. As the'
¡-.train moved away I looked around
and there were no other children in
the car, and there were no ladies. I
gazed around the coach at its oc-
cupants. There was a tough-looking
man in the front seat; he had long
hair and a beard and was wearing
an old flat hat, very greasy and dir-
ty. He had a tremendous sack of
wool, so I took him to be a
sheepherder. Across the aisle there
was a small swarthy man with
heavy eyebrows, black eyes and
a mustache. He had a large pack on
the seat beside him and I knew he
was a peddler. The seat directly in
front of me was filled with a fat man
wearing a black Alpaca suit, a
white shirt, a black string tie and
large Stetson hat. On his lapel was
pinned a glistening silver star with
Sheriff on it. Just as I began to
get really restless the fat man stood
up, and paused beside my seat and
said "Hello Kid." Grandma had
told me not to speak to strangers so
I dropped my eyes and toyed with
my purse.
"Aren't you Charlie Grant's
kid?" the man asked. I cut my eyes
toward him and nodded. Here in the
flesh was Uncle Edgar's arch
enemy, so he was bound to be an
enemy of mine. A shiver ran over
me. The Sheriff said "What's the
matter? Has the cat got your
tongue?" I was moved to stick it out
at him for proof that he was
mistaken, but controlled the im-
pulse. He put a heavy hand on my
shoulder and turned me around. He
continued to heckle me. I wanted to
cry, but I felt too big to do that. I
didn't know which way to turn and
then I looked up and there stood my
Uncle Edgar. He told the Sheriff to
stop teasing me, but then turned
and went into the Smoker. The slow
hours passed and winter dark came
down as it began to snow. The whole
world was a whirl of white. Finally
the sheriff, the peddler and the
sheepherder dozed off. Later the
sheriff came up out of slumber with
a loud snort. He pulled out his watch
and said "Five o'clock-must be two
hours late.'
"Two hours late," I cried. Yep, he
said, "Looks like you might not get
to hang up your stocking after all,
but I reckon it won't make much
difference. You're too old not to
know who Santa is." "Santa Claus
is Santa Claus I I know that."
"You're too smart not to know that
Santa is just your Papa and
Mama." "He is notl He is not!" I
shrieked. A lithe shape leaped
through the doorway and Uncle
Edgar had the sheriff by the collar.
"What did you do that for?" Uncle
Edgar rasped, shaking the sheriff
the way a dog shakes a rat. After
bloodying the sheriff's noae Uncle
Edgar thought he had had enough,
"You're under arrest!" shouted the
sheriff. "Just wait until I tell the
judge what you did!" said Uncle
Edgar. About this time Mr. Smith,
the conductor told them that the
Brazos River bridge was closed
because of deep snow and it could
not be cleared until the next day. I
shrieked "I want my Mo-ther." Un-
cle Edgar told the others to go into
the smoker and he would try to get
me quiet. He said "Now listen to
me, Sissy, there, is too a Santa
Claus." Thus reassured I finally
fell into a peacful sleep. I did not
open my eyes until the sun was
square in my eyes. And what a sight.
awaited me! They must have put in
a night of superhuman effort - that
group of ill-assorted passengers of
the Brazos Valley and Central.
They were all standing in a huddle
at one end of the coach, waiting ec-
statically for me to become con-
scious. Young as I was I saw how
pleased they were with themselves,
and I gave them a brilliant smile.
On the seat opposite me was a
small sagebrush shrub which had
been uprooted and trimmed with
dried-up applies, elderly candy and
chewing gum, and even a sack of
tobacco tied with a white string. On
the arm of the seat hung a man's
sock, probably from the drummer's
valise. It contained the most en-
ticing and unusual collections of
presents any little girl ever was
awarded. A rabbit foot, a string of
rattlesnake rattles, a deck of cards,
slightly used, a large jackknife, a
good-luck dollar with a bullet hole
through the middle, a small, sen-
timental looking pair of lady's
spurs and an elk's tooth.
But we still had not reached the
climax. When I had examined these
tributes with much enthusiasm,
there was suddenly a great ringing
of the engine bell and through the
coach burst an apparition that had
all the earmarks of Santa Claus. To
my bedazzled eyes it was certainly
Santa Claus; and I thought with
renewed wonder what a miracle it
was that Santa had known where to
find me way out here on a dead
train in the middle of the prairie. I
just desperately wanted to believe
that it was true, and so I did. With a
great flourish he put his hand into
the pack and from shoe laces, sad-
dle soap, needle books and boxes of
arnica he withdrew a splendid red
hair ribbon and a china doll without
legs, obviously salvaged from the
peddler's ene remaining pin-
chushion. I shrieked with joy, fon-
dled the ribbon and folded the
maimed baby to my chest.
While the celebration was still at
its hieght the conductor announced
Christmas
is the perfect
time for us to say
we appreciate
your patronage!
Shaye and Chad Lucas
wish you
Happy Holidays
...from...
Flowers 'R Us
Ph. 683-5144 Hwy. 69, Rusk
'■UV
Greetings
Hope your Christmas Is bright
with love and Joy.
Charles Holcomb";
District
Attorney
See P. 5 please
We appreciate your patronage this past year and look forward to serving you
^ the New Year! Happy Holidays!
CALLING LAST MINUTE SHOPPERS
behave
WE0Releases
2
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Begin y°ur
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- In Rusk -
zN.zftOR
ÍMÜEQ
\¡je£ÑSXÜR
- In Alto -
Open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. thru Thursday
Friday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Saturday, Christmas Eve. open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday, Christmas Day. open from 1-7 p.m.
VU North Main in Rink Ph. 613-5733
Open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m thru Friday
Saturday, Christmas Eve, 10 a m to 6 p.m
Sunday, Christmas Day. 1-7 p.m.
H*j. 69 in Mto Ph. 409/851 4602
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The Cherokeean. (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 140, No. 46, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 22, 1988, newspaper, December 22, 1988; Rusk, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth151883/m1/4/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Singletary Memorial Library.