Christmas as it used to be...

Sent to The Frederick Leader and The Frederick Press, December 20, 2011

 

Share your Christmas Memories

Christmas is a special time of the year, filled with family traditions and precious memories.

I encourage you to share your memories of Christmas with your family and loved ones. You can do that by telling stories from your past Christmases or by putting those memories in writing.

My mother was born in 1914, and as a kid I remember asking her about Christmas when she was a girl, living on the farm southwest of Tipton. She was one of eight kids, and part of a big extended family with many cousins.

She told about the family gathering at her grandmother’s house in Tipton at Christmas, and one of her uncles always dressing up to play the part of “Santee” for the kids. The children received an apple and an orange (special treats for Oklahoma farm kids), a candy cane, and one or two simple, inexpensive gifts. Christmas in those days was not the commercial extravaganza that it has now become.

Today, every Christmas, I think about my mother’s stories and imagine what it must have been like to be a child at those family Christmases in the 1920s. Even though those Christmas celebrations happened long before I was born, my mother’s sharing them made them a meaningful part of my Christmas experience.

That’s why it is important to share your Christmas memories.

You can simply tell your stories, but I really encourage you to put those memories in writing. When you sit down to write, you’ll be surprised at the flood of memories that will come to you.

What were the Christmas traditions when you were young? Where did your family gather?

Write about a particular Christmas that particularly stands out in your memory.

Were church services or church programs part of your holidays?

How did you celebrate Christmas at school?

How did your family decorate, and where did you get your Christmas trees?

Which gifts stand out in your memory?

What smells, sights, and tastes from Christmas in those days do you remember even now?

Who were the people who made your Christmases special?

Many of those friends and family members from your Christmases past are probably no longer living, but tell your children and grandchildren about those people who were important to you.

Sharing your memories of Christmas is a gift that won’t cost a dime – but it may be one of the most special, lasting gifts that you can give during this holiday season.

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Give History for Christmas

Sent to The Frederick Leader and The Frederick Press, December 13, 2011

History books make excellent gifts

Looking for a great gift?

Consider a book about history.

The Tillman County Historical Society sells a variety of books at the Pioneer Townsite Museum, and all proceeds from the book sales go to a great cause – the upkeep and operational expenses of the museum.

The museum’s most popular book is Bud and Me, the true-life account of Bud and Temple Abernathy’s adventures, written by Temple Abernathy’s wife Alta Abernathy. Bud and Me can be enjoyed by readers of all ages, but it makes a particularly good gift for young people. Cost of Bud and Me is $22, which includes tax.

My favorite book at the museum is a large book titled Struggles in a New State. Written by Oklahoma City attorney Larry Lewis, the book begins with the 1905 Roosevelt-Abernathy wolf hunt and the 1910 exploits of Bud and Temple Abernathy, but it also encompasses all that was happening in Oklahoma during the first decade of Oklahoma's statehood – politics and state government, new technology, transportation, women’s rights, and much more. It is a fascinating read, and well worth its $35 price.

Another strong seller at the Pioneer Townsite is a large paperbound book called The Greatest Wolf Hunter that ever lived: The Story of ‘Catch’em Alive’ Jack Abernathy, by Ronald J. Ward. It’s the life story of Jack Abernathy, from his days as a young cowboy and saloon piano player in Texas, his life as a settler in Oklahoma Territory, his 1905 wolf hunt with Theodore Roosevelt, and his adventures as a U.S. Marshal. Cost is $27.

Many other books are also available at the museum’s general store, including One Man in his Time by Tipton native Richard McCullough. The book is a biography of Richard’s father, Herbert Lorance McCullough and is fascinating not only for its stories of the McCullough family but also for its look at early Tipton and Tillman County history. The book sells for $16.

Richard McCullough is currently working Vol. I of a two-book Tipton area history that will be titled Peaceful Valley: A Portrait of a Prairie Town, and the Legacy of Small Town America. Vol. I will cover the late 1800s to the year 1950, and will be more than 400 pages of historical photos, stories, and research. It will not be available until summer of 2012, but Richard is taking advance orders now and will provide a custom designed gift card that can be presented for Christmas. Peaceful Valley will sell for $55 this summer, but can be pre-ordered now at $46.75 – a 15 percent discount. Orders can be sent to Richard McCullough, P.O. Box 517, Perkins, OK 74059. Ordering information is also available at Richard’s website www.onemaninhistime.com.

Tillman County’s history was published in two volumes in the late 1970s, and those books are always in great demand. The historical society currently has a set of both books (Vol. I and II) that are in perfect condition. Cost of the two-book set is $400. The books will make a great Christmas gift.

The Pioneer Townsite is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The Wide-A-Wake

Column sent to Frederick Leader and Frederick Press

December 15, 2009

The Wide-A-Wake Store in Frederick, Christmas 1918

Wide-A-Wake was Christmas-Central in Early Frederick

 
    

In Tillman County’s early days, Christmas must have been an especially wonderful holiday.

Although money was tight for most area residents and luxuries were few, the prospect of store-bought candy, simple Christmas gifts, or baskets of apples or oranges were rare holiday treats, and every community in the new county contained stores and businesses where Christmas treats could be purchased.

Frederick had many dry-good, hardware, and mercantile stores where simple traditional Christmas shopping could be done, but one of the most popular was the Wide-A-Wake variety store.

The Wide-A-Wake was purchased by the Tomlinson family in 1911 and, according to the Tillman County History Vol. I, was located then at Main and Grand. Shortly thereafter, though, the Tomlinsons moved the Wide-A-Wake to the 200 block of West Grand into the building where the City of Frederick’s drive-though is now located. Eventually the Tomlinson family purchased buildings on the west and south sides of that location and expanded the business.

According to the Tillman County History, though, for a brief time in 1918, the Wide-A-Wake was located in the 100 block of West Grand in the building that now houses Sweet Magnolia’s Antique Mall.

The Tillman County archives photo of the Wide-A-Wake shown above, taken at Christmastime in about 1918, appears to be at the Sweet Magnolia’s location.

It pictures Christmas merchandise on the sidewalk in front of the store. Red wagons imprinted with "Wide-A-Wake" on the sides and wooden buckets of Christmas fruit and candies are ready for sale to holiday shoppers.

A large sign with a picture of Santa reads "Christmas Toys, Holiday Goods, for Sale Here." Another sign reads "We Have a Doll for Every Child in Tillman Co." A third sign reads "Remember the Loved Ones at Home. They Haven't Forgotten You."

A close look at the photo shows that snow has accumulated in the street in front of the display.

The Tomlinson business remained a Frederick institution until the 1970s.

In the mid-1930s, the family changed the name of the business from the Wide-A-Wake to Tomlinson and Son”

The Tomlinson family was part owner of the national TG&Y chain of stores (“T” standing for Tomlinson) and in the 1960s the Tomlinson store in Frederick became a TG&Y, which it remained until its closing.