Vigo County Historical Society

Evergreens play a part in Christmas magic

Oh, the wonder of it all. The bright twinkling lights of many colors bring back memories of other tree trimmings.

Martin Luther of Germany is given credit for bringing into the house the first evergreen tree to be lit with candles so that his family could see the beauty of the outdoors.

During the Great Depression my father would take an ax and saw to a friend’s stand of trees and pick out the right size tree to be cut. This was the start of Christmas magic. After cutting some of the lower branches off to make the tree trunk fit into a bucket filled with water, the tree sat upright waiting to be attended.

Then the family’s usual two strings of different colored lights would be untangled and draped about the tree. Bulbs didn’t last too long in the 1920s and ‘30s, and each bulb would have to be tested before a burned-out bulb was located.

Delicate ornaments were then unwrapped, but alas, some would break as they were removed from the tissue paper enclosing them. At the end of World War I, these beautiful handblown baubles were no longer allowed to be imported from Germany.

When in grade school, we learned about stringing whole cranberries and popcorn to make or form a long chain to be draped about the tree.

We also made a lot of red and green paper chains with which to decorate the front room by fastening paper chains to all four corners of the ceiling. The chains would cross in the middle of the room. Some of these paper chains also were put on the tree.

Silver tinsel was the next article to go on, each strand carefully placed on the branches, which made the tree sparkle and shimmer. This was during the Depression, and tinsel was saved year by year. It had a tendency to crumple into a ball shape and had to be carefully picked apart the next year.

Either a star or an angel would at last be placed on top of the tree, meaning the tree was now done except for a white sheet being placed on the floor covering the bucket and water.

When I was young trees weren’t put up for the family until Christmas Eve and then taken down Jan. 6. During this time, people would drive up and down the streets looking into the beautifully lit windows. There were no outdoor decorations at that time.

Then came the war years of the 1940s and blackout time was established. No light could show through a home’s window, in case of an air raid bombing.

By 1945, I was a student nurse and while we had ambition, we had very little pocket change, so each student nurse acquired a Reader’s Digest magazine. By folding each page twice, we came up with a round tree with a cone-looking top. By painting this work of art green, we each had a table top Christmas tree.

Toward 1950, the green artificial tree was being manufactured. Each limb could be taken apart from the main pole and saved to be put up again the next year.

Do you remember seeing your first silver aluminum tree called the Silver Pine, patented in the 1950s? It was designed to have a revolving light wheel placed under it, its colored windows allowed the light to shine in different shades as it revolved under the tree. No decorations were needed for this tree.

When you visit the museum you will see different trees with various theme patterns. One with Coca-Cola memorabilia keeps company with the tall, elegant Victorian tree decorated in gold. The tree pictured stand in the museum entry hall.