When the family moved to Winnipeg, after Christmas each year Laurie Mustard’s father, Joe, would collect used Christmas trees and display them in the backyard until spring.
Christmas was a wonderful time back in the mid-1950s when I was a young lad growing up in Killarney.
Seems to me the season was more about family and get-togethers back then, and people home for the holidays, presents, too, of course.
It just seems so crazy commercial now.
While browsing through a few family photo albums last weekend, I came across this great "snap" of the Mustard family living room at Christmas, in Killarney, probably about 1955.
And it occurred to me just as I was writing this that my dad, Joe Mustard, would have taken this photo on Christmas Eve, just before going to bed, because all the gifts are ready under the tree, including those not wrapped, which we of course would have seen if we kiddies weren’t already dreaming of Santa.
Yep. Look. The clock reads midnight. Still have that clock somewhere.
I remember that big teddy bear, don’t remember who it was for, though. My parents loved Christmas, especially Dad, who shone at decorating the tree each year. And once that tree came down after New Year’s, it was taken outside and stuck in a snowbank to look pretty until spring.
After we moved into Winnipeg in the fall of 1957, Dad started a tradition of gathering trees post-Christmas each year, and setting them up as a mini forest to view out the kitchen window. He loved evergreens, did not like winter, and that helped tide him over until the real green returned.
This picture brings back a lot more than just Christmas memories, however.
Dad had a hardware/general store in Killarney, so we had one of the first televisions in town. Sharp sales cookie that he was, Dad always had this room full of people Friday and Saturday nights, invited to watch TV, of course, so he could sell them one later.
I remember it being thrilling to watch the World Series right in your own living room!
The cabinet under the clock is a radio/record player on which I endlessly played my first 78 record, Elvis Presley — Hound Dog and Don’t Be Cruel. I still have the record. Broken, but a keepsake nevertheless.
My sister, Lynne Mustard Cordray, has the tall lamp, I believe. She’s out in Victoria now, and I’m wondering where the small lamp on the TV is. Heat from the light bulb made the lamp shade spin, bringing to life whatever was printed on it. This one had a forest fire blazing. Come to think of it, why would anyone want to see that?
There were a huge number of Mustard clan relatives in and around Killarney back in the ’50s, so the visiting over Christmas/New Year’s was extensive. So many aunts making such great snacks. One great Christmas memory from about this time is a trip across town to visit a relative. We came to an icy intersection, Dad cranked the wheel to the left, floored it, and spun us around in a complete circle before continuing on. I think Mom gave him a — "Joseph!"
No booze, the man just loved to have good old family fun.
My parents imbibed very little, regardless the time of year, but at gatherings where alcohol was being served, for those who liked "the drink", there was no incentive to hold back.
As we have become so aware now, some of the saddest homes at Christmastime are those that have lost a family member or members to a drunk driver. Can’t imagine what the Check Stop program would have hauled in during the holiday season back in those years — anywhere. Off the charts.
Hope the new drinking and driving laws keep people even safer.
Wishing one and all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! And your FURMILY members too — treats under the tree, please and thank you.
Comments or feedback, love to hear from you!
lmustard1948@gmail.com
