December 25th , 1941, in The Mountaineer
Ran in The Mountaineer, December 11, 1941.
The theme for the Christmas Parade at this year's stroll was "A Montana Christmas." Thinking about our town and the holidays got me wondering what the town did for Christmas in the earliest years of its existence. Big Sandy has a wonderful collection of Christmas traditions and a fascinating history that stretches back more than a century. A little searching into The Mountaineer archives quickly revealed the ghosts of Christmas traditions past. The most interesting thing about The Mountaineer's coverage of the holiday events is that they don't look all that different from the Big Sandy Christmas Strolls of the past decade. In the coming weeks, I hope to feature snapshots of Christmas in Big Sandy's yesteryears. This year, I'll be looking at Christmas in the first few years of our town's history.
The first mention of a community Christmas event shows up in the December 14th, 1911 issue. It's a simple notice inviting the whole town to the Christmas Tree (decorating party?) with entertainment in the evening of Christmas Day. Afterwards a "Grand Ball" was held. Folks were encouraged to come, exchange gifts, and make the day a memorable time. I found myself chuckling a little at the notice, which was a bit hard to understand due to several typos. The paper features no further mentions of the holiday. The announcement is on page 2 of the following week's paper. This time, the local news section mentions that the dance is at the local Opera House. There is also an announcement about the Prairie Home Sunday School having a Christmas pageant that Saturday night. The program was overseen by the teacher, Miss Medene. Santa Clause was slated to appear. A small note further down the local section apologized for the paper not releasing a special Christmas Issue, as was customary for papers at the time. The town size and limited circulation of the paper made such an extravagance impossible. A neat side note: the early years of the paper often included installments of various novels which were published weekly for local readers to enjoy. The first year or so of the paper included chapters from "The Kingdom of the Slender Swords."
The 1912 Mountaineer was far more Christmasy. Ads for local shops selling Christmas Goods, which were strangely absent the previous year, began to show up. The dance, which was advertised rather modestly the previous year, showed up on the front page as a "Grand Prize Garden Party and Ball" at the Oliver Opera House. This event actually took place on New Year's Eve and was described as "the grand ball of the season" and an "affair long to be remembered." Music was provided by Prof F.A. Roland, who was sure to make you dance. The opera house was decorated in the style of a Japanese Garden for the event. Two grand prizes were to be awarded to a lady and a gentleman that evening. The editorial for that issue urges locals to remember the meaning of the season and to remember the forgotten in the community as the holiday rolls around. Local news blurbs mention Santa appearing at the local department store McNamara and Marlow, who advertise quite a bit in The Mountaineer over the first few decades.
In 1913, Christmastime editions of the paper mention a "Christmas Bazaar," which sounds a lot like the craft sale held at our Christmas Stroll every year. The bazaar was put on by the ladies of the United Methodist Aid Society at the opera house. Baskets of locally made food stuffs were auctioned off to attendees. A quilt was given away to a "lucky attendee." Between the sales and the auction, the bazaar raised $110. The front page also featured a writeup on the McNamara and Marlow Christmas Display in the store window, which they describe as competitive with anything you might see in Great Falls. The paper also features a Christmas themed fiction work and poems. One particularly unusual thing about 1913 is The Mountaineer's decision to release a paper on Christmas Day. The Dec. 25th edition of the paper. The front page featured Christmas well wishes, the announcement of the annual school program at the opera house. In addition McNamara and Marlow's Christmas program, featuring Santa Clause, was covered. 200 kids showed up to meet the big man, share their Christmas wishes, and receive a "bag of sweets." An interesting note: the short article mentions the locals guessing as to who filled the red suit at the event, without actually revealing who played Santa for the town. The paper also included reprints of religious artwork depicting the nativity with a little bit of history of the paintings themselves.
One noteworthy article from the 1913 edition shows up on page 7. The paper featured a writeup of American and British soldiers' Christmas experience in the Philippines that year. The issue came out about three and a half years before the United States entered
Wold War I. The cheerful account stands in stark contrast to the cover page of the 1918 Christmas edition, which is packed with war news, stories of a local boy visiting home on furlough from the army, and an announcement of the death of a soldier with local ties while on deployment in France, and stories about the dreaded Spanish Flu claiming locals on the prairie.
