Community
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
A7
Christmas is coming!
By Robin Roberts
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
Editor’s note: This week features
parts one and two. See the conclusion
next week.
Preparations
As a small boy I thought of Christmas
other times of the year, though not often
in the heat of summer. I looked forward to
each season — Fourth of July, Labor Day,
Halloween -– eagerly, and seldom looked
beyond one to the next. But Thanksgiv-
ing was different. Following my moth-
er about the kitchen as she cooked and
set the dining room table, I could feel
an extra thrill. Christmas was coming!
Our conversation around the Thanksgiv-
ing table would include Christmas lists,
shopping for gifts and trips to the post of-
fi ce with the car fi lled with brown-paper
wrapped packages addressed to places at
once foreign and familiar. We would talk
of Christmas vacation and preparations
for The Trip.
Christmas was coming! A time of hol-
iday and good cheer. But more than that,
a time for the annual get together of our
large, extended family. A lot of people cel-
ebrate their family at Thanksgiving. But
Christmas was the big get-together for my
family. I suppose it was because we lived
so far from each other. Both my parents
had been born and raised in Minnesota, my
mother in Minneapolis and my father on a
small farm in the north. My father was the
oldest boy of eight children. He had two
sisters, one older and one younger, along
with fi ve brothers. My mother’s family was
equally large. She and her fi ve sisters doted
on their baby brother. Two of my mother’s
sisters and their baby brother, Ken, re-
mained in Minneapolis, but the rest of the
family spread south to Iowa, Missouri and
Kansas; and west to South Dakota, Idaho,
Oregon and California.
I think that was the reason Christmas
became our time of gathering. There were
so many of us, so spread out and so many
children involved that there wasn’t enough
time on a four-day weekend for everyone to
travel and visit and return.
It was a long drive from San Francis-
co to Minneapolis, and there was a lot to
prepare beforehand. As the fi rst days of
December arrived my afternoons and eve-
nings were fi lled with shopping trips with
my mother. There were presents to buy for
a dozen aunts and uncles and more than
twice that many cousins ranging from in-
fants to young adults. My mother compiled
long written lists of names, but seemed to
have everyone’s age and size in her head.
“This would be perfect for Uncle Walt,”
she’d say and hold a sweater up before us.
My brother and I would nod, our heads
and hearts swiveling toward the toy depart-
ment.
The city
Preparations for the trip back east always
included a trip to the city, San Francisco.
This was an adventure in itself because we
got to take the train. The same mysterious
and magical conveyance that transported
my father to work and back. My mother’s
attire included hat and gloves just like on
Sunday so my brother and I knew we were
going someplace special. We fi dgeted at the
station, leashed to my mother’s side by a
stern warning, as we waited for the three
o’clock into the city. It seemed to take
forever but arrived at last with the deep,
throbbing pulse of the diesel and the squeal
and shriek of the breaks. We were only the
second small stop on the return trip to the
city so the train was nearly empty, and my
brother and I quickly took window seats so
we could watch the mysterious towns slide
by, each stop announced by the conductor
as he strolled the aisle.
In the city, my father met us at the sta-
tion, and then the real adventure began.
One thing you have to understand. The
town I grew up in was rural and small, a
main street and state street crossed at an
angle by fi rst street and second. That was
it, a few dozen shops and services. Most of
the small population was spread out over
50 square miles of orchards and farms.
Store owners decorated their windows with
lights and small displays, a nativity scene
or two, but this in no way prepared me for
the dazzling production that was the city
the week before Christmas. Never before
had I seen so many people in one place
and all of them seemed urgently hurrying
to one place or another. Only the sky was
dark, the streets aglow with unbelievable
displays that moved and sang and glittered
from every window front. My folks man-
aged to urge me away from one window
wonderland only to discover another even
more wondrous and magical. Window after
window of unbelievable scenes awaited my
wide-open stare of amazement.
We went to untold giant stores in the city.
I don’t remember them all, but I do remem-
ber two in particular, the Emporium and the
City of Paris. The fi rst featured the largest
toy section in the city and on the roof San-
ta’s Village, a winter wonderland with rides
and booths and a visit with Santa. The sec-
ond featured the tree. The City of Paris had
a rotunda that towered four stories high and
in the middle of it stood a tree that reached
all the way to the glass ceiling overhead. It
was mounted on a rotating base so if you
stood in one place long enough you could
see the decorations all around the tree. And
what decorations. Bulbs and lights and tin-
sel, of course, but in addition to those every
object one could think of . I can’t even begin
to list the things that ornamented that tree.
Every toy ever received at Christmas hung
in miniature glory among those boughs. We
would stand there, my brother and I, mes-
merized, as the tree slowly rotated. It took
many rotations before we thought we’d
seen them all.
And then the real miracle took place,
for every fl oor above was also open to the
rotunda, and each fl oor as we ascended
brought a whole new perspective of the
tree and another unbelievable panorama
of ornaments. Thanks to my mother’s eter-
nal patience and indefatigable belief in the
magic of Christmas, we usually got to view
the tree from top to bottom more than once.
We had to be back at the train depot by
eight-ten. That was the last train back down
the peninsula. I don’t remember much of
the trip home. Sated at last, I slept.
Robin Roberts is a writer who lives in
Canyon City. See the conclusion next week.
City Park Gains $6,705
For New Development
Funds of $6,705 have been
approved for the development
and enlargement of the John Day
city park covering a three-year
period, announced Councilman
Gordon Glass at the John Day
city council meeting Tuesday.
Mayor Les Meyers commended
Glass for his “outstanding effort
and contribution” in working for
the city park improvement pro-
gram. Congressman Al Ullman
made an announcement of the
approval of the funds Friday.
The money will be available
to the city on a matching basis.
One of the special features of the
development program is the res-
toration of the Chinese building
by the city park. According to
plans, it is hoped that the build-
ing by the city park can be made
into a museum in memory of the
Chinese who once lived in the
John Day area. “It is the opin-
ion of some state and historical
people that the Chinese building
could be a major tourist attrac-
tion,” said Glass. Mrs. Cecille
Lewis of John Day has been
selected to head up the Chinese
building restoration project. The
city has two projects: acquisition
of two parcels of land consisting
of an eighth of an acre to the
present park and the develop-
ment of the park area, said Glass.
Part of the land purchase is for
the playground and the other
part will be for enlarging the
picnic area. The development
of the park will consist of ac-
quiring playground equipment
such as one heavy duty four-
swing set, one 10-foot slide, one
10-foot merry-go-round and an
enclosed Tot-Lot play area for
small children. The project is
to be completed in three years
depending on the availability of
local matching funds. Glass say
any civic or fraternal funds may
be used. Private and business
contributions, which would be
appreciated, are tax deductible.
Cooperative efforts of the city,
the John Day grade school and
Grant Union high school are be-
ing made to develop a complete
summer recreation program for
both boys and girls of all age
groups, said Glass. Serving as a
liaison offi cer between the local
WHAT’S
HAPPENING
The deadline for What’s Happening items is 5 p.m. Fri-
day. Call the Eagle, 541-575-0710, or email editor@bmea-
gle.com. For meetings this week, see our list in the classi-
fi eds on Page B9.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 14
‘Little Town of Christmas’
• 6:30 p.m., Long Creek School
Students in grades preschool through 12 will perform.
Dayville School talent show
• 7 p.m., Dayville School gym
The community is invited to the Dayville School talent
show where Dayville students in preschool through 12th
grade will show their talents. There is no cost to attend. For
more information, call the school at 541-987-2412.
Winter concert
• 7 p.m., Grant Union Junior-Senior High School old gym
The junior band, senior band and combined choir will
perform.
Prairie City School program
• 7 p.m., Prairie City School new gym
Students in kindergarten through sixth grade will per-
form.
O UT OF THE P AST
Blue Mountain Eagle
December 15, 1966
50 years ago
File photo
The reindeer get into the act at a previous Prairie
City School Christmas program. Programs
are planned at several area schools, including
Prairie City, Wednesday, Dec. 14.
program and the state is Gary
Woodring, assistant state recre-
ation director. Monies for the lo-
cal project are derived from the
Land and Water Conservation
Fund Act.
TUESDAY, DEC. 20
Christmas program
• 6 p.m., Monument School gym
The event will feature music and a special visit from San-
ta at the close.
OPEN HOUSE
Saturday December 17th, 11am - 5 pm
Come say
farewell
to Monty!
There will be
a grand prize
drawing for a
weed eater!
2016 TIMBER TRUCKER PARADE MERCHANTS
Bank of Eastern Oregon
Gardner Enterprises
O’Rorke Logging, Inc
Whiskey Gulch Gang
Country Preferred Real Estate
BarWB
Old West Federal Credit Union
City of John Day
Oregon Telephone Corp
Iron Triangle Logging
Blue Mt Hospital
Hutch’s Printing
Radio Shack
Len’s Drug
John Day Video Shoppe
Blue Mt Chiropractic
Murray’s Furniture of Hood
River
Snaffle Bit Dinner House
Java Jungle & Tropical Tan
State Farm Insurance
Les Schwab Tire Center
Ed Staub & Sons
Greg & Melody Jackson
Boyd Britton Welding
Grant Western Lumber
Malheur Lumber Co
Mary Ellen Brooks Ranch
Huffman’s Market
RJ Post & Pole
Pioneer Feed
Jerome Natural Resources
Doug’s Repair
Gibco Ag & Industrial
L & L Excavating
John Day River Vet Clinic
Mobile Glass
Frontier Equipment
Wright Chevrolet
Subway of John Day
KJDY
John Day True Value
Nydam’s Hardware
Duncan Truck & Equip
A Flower Shop ‘N More
Chester’s Thriftway
JD Rents & Power Equip
Wildhorse Hotel & Casino
Senator Ted Ferrioli
King’s Variety Store
H & R Block
John Day Elks Lodge 1824
Melissa Pettyjohn at Polished
1188 Brewing Co.
Squeeze In Restaurant
Tidewater Contractors
Land Title Company
T&H Automotive
The Ugly Truth Bar & Grill
Associated Oregon Loggers
Kenworth Sales
Chuck’s Diner
John Day Auto Parts
Oregon Trail Electric
Blue Mt Eagle
Russell’s Custom
Meats Mill’s Bldg Supply
Hair It Is Salon
Kathy Bishop
Prime Time Video
Better Blooms & Garden
Town of Canyon City
Eastern Oregon Realty Rude
Logging
Oster Professional Group
CLP Ranches
John Day Senior Center
Eagle Freightliner
Pape’ Group, Inc.
Eye Care of John Day
Bar B Que
with all the
trimmings!
First 35 people get to
pick a prize off the tree –
some free prizes
- some % off of prizes
Bring in your
canned food
for the
Grant County
Snowballers
food drive
• Sales & Service •
821 W. HWY 26, John Day • 541-575-0828
www.johndaypolaris.com