The INDEPENDENT, December 19, 2001
By Nancy Burch, Librarian
Vernonia Public Library
Every year we hear the poem, The Night Be
fore Christmas, but few of us know that it was a
special gift written by Dr. Clement Clarke Moore
for his six-year-old daughter, Charity. During the
fall of 1822, Moore learned that Charity might not
recover from tuberculosis. Charity also knew that
she was very ill, too tired to pick up toys, and
asked her father for a special Christmas gift that
year—a story. As Moore was turned toward a
window to hide the tears in his eyes he watched
the wind whip the fallen leaves and the words
“As dry leaves that before wild the wild hurricane
fly...” came to mind and he knew that Charity’s
gift would be a poem—a very special poem.
Other phrases were written reflecting Moore’s
knowledge of Dutch Christmas traditions. The
reindeer were named for the eight goats that, ac
cording to Dutch folklore, travel with Sinter Klaas
and Black Peter on a boat along the canals in
Holland. Just in time for Christmas Eve in 1822,
Moore had all of the words put together in his
head, but not on paper. As Moore nervously re
cited his poem, he wondered if Charity would re
ally like the poem or would rather have had a
real toy. As he finished Charity smiled, told him it
was perfect, fell asleep, and from that day for
ward grew stronger and recovered from the tu
berculosis. Dr. Moore never intended to publish
the poem, but a relative sent it to the New York
Troy Sentinel where it was published on Decem
ber 23, 1823, and became an instant hit with its
special American Santa Claus.
Many families include the reading of Dr.
Moore's poem as part of their yearly Christmas
traditions. If hearing it for the first or the 101st
time, the words of the poem bring to life the mag
ical aspects of the season. Close your eyes and
visualize some of the following phrases:
.. The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer,...
...His eyes—how they twinkled! His dimples how
merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the
snow....
...He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a
whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
“HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL
A GOOD-NIGHT!”
The newly published, Chicken Soup for the
Soul, Christmas Treasury, provided this informa
tion on Dr. Clement Moore and his well-loved
poem. In this timeless holiday collection, people
from all walks of life share their most memorable
holiday moments, and remind us that the true
reason for the season is love, caring and shar
ing. A new holiday tradition could begin this year
as the uplifting, inspirational stories in this book
are shared with family and friends.
The mother/daughter team of Mary Higgins
Clark and Carol Higgins Clark has continued
their tradition of releasing a new book just prior
to the holidays. Entitled He Sees You When
You’re Sleeping, this story takes place a few
days before Christmas, as Sterling Brooks
awaits a summons from the Heavenly council.
Sterling has waited for 46 years in the celestial
waiting room for the decision on whether he will
be deemed fit for entrance into heaven. Though
his actual misdeeds on earth were few, he was
too self-absorbed to really think about anyone
else or to make a commitment to the woman he
loved. The council decides on a test for Ster
ling—he is sent back to earth and given the op
portunity to prove his worthiness by helping
someone else. This story is filled with suspense
and humor and is perfect for the holidays, with its
warmhearted tale of redemption and love.
Another new acquisition and a “must read” is
John Grisham’s latest novel, Skipping Christ
mas. Once again, Grisham has presented a dif
ferent side to his writing—a humorous style.
Luther and Nora Krank’s only daughter, Blair,
has joined the Peace Corps and has been as
signed to Peru for two years. Taking this into
consideration, Luther decides that he and Nora
will skip Christmas this year and leave on a
cruise on Christmas Day instead. They don’t
shop for presents or buy the fruitcakes and cal
endars from the firemen and policemen. They
don’t decorate their house with Frosty as is tra
dition on their street. They don’t have a tree or
plan for their annual Christmas Eve party. They
forego holiday treats and endure the tanning
booth in preparation for the cruise. All the shop
keepers, neighbors, and public servants are mad
at them for not buying or keeping traditions, or
supporting their charitable causes. Then, on the
morning of Christmas Eve day, Blair calls to tell
them she has become engaged to a Peruvian
doctor. She further tells them that the two of
them will be arriving home on a flight at 6:03 p.m.
that evening, and that she is excited about show
ing her new fiancé a traditional holiday at home.
Oh boy!
Something to keep in mind during the holiday
break is that the library does have the family
pass to The Children’s Museum available for li
brary patrons to check out. Located near the zoo
in the old OMSI building, the museum is easily
accessible from Vernonia and it has more space
than it did in the downtown location. The first li
brary patron to make use of the pass reported
that even after 3 and ? hours her children were
reluctant to leave. Check on availability and con
ditions regarding the pass.
The after-school story/activity will be an ongo
ing project, at least for this school year. This is
held each Monday afternoon from 3:30 to 4:30
on afternoons when school is in session. Con
ducted by Trish Maldonado, this is a fun activity
for youngsters and for their parents.
Calvin Coolidge is quoted as saying, “Christ
mas is not a time or a season, but a state of
mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plen
teous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christ
mas." That is what the library staff wishes for
you—that you have this real spirit of Christmas
Vernonia Library 701 Weed Avenue
Hours: Mon., Wed., Frl. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Tues., Thur. 2 p.m.-7 p.m.
Sat. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Preschool Story Time, Mondays, 10:30 a.m.
Phone: (503)429-1818
From page 2
vanced-placement
Spanish
Teacher” at Vernonia High
School. First of all, let me say to
her that it is obvious she was
shoved out the door by her par
ents at a very early age be
cause she has absolutely no
compassion or sensitivity to
ward humans. Funny how she
can judge us, as caring par
ents, and write that it is a bad
thing that we protect our chil
dren from society and that we
don’t wean our young and push
them out of the sheltering nest
to force them into “shock of sur
vival." Well shame, shame on
her for judging the caring and
loving parents! If we don’t pro
tect our children, who will? I will
feed, clean, teach and protect
my children until they move on
to start their own life. I will al
ways protect my children, even
when they are 30 or 40 years
old. That is my job.
Ms. Sawyer, let me tell you
that these so called “sensitive
kids” will go out into our world
and be caring, loving and kind.
They will not be rude, obnox
ious and cold to others as you
stated. They will not be late for
work, take extended breaks
and forget important data. Be
cause they were nurtured and
loved and not pushed out of
their nest early, they will learn
to be responsible young adults.
Sincerely,
Pat Janac
Vernonia
Leadership seeks $$
for improvements
To the Editor:
As you may or may not
know, the Vernonia High
School graduation ceremony is
in dire need of improvement!
For two years, we have been
borrowing risers and walkway
carpeting from Clatskanie High
School in order to have a pre
sentable graduation ceremony.
But, we cannot keep borrowing
forever. In previous years,
graduates sat on folding chairs
on the stage allowing only the
first row of students to be seen.
In order to make changes, to
better this important event, we
are asking for a little help.
The Leadership class of Ver
nonia High School, which is the
representative body for the
school, is conducting fund-rais
ers and donation requests
throughout our community. Our
goal for fundraising is $4,326.
Leadership has contributed
Page 3
$1,000 and the class of 2000
contributed $592.25. This mon
ey and any we receive will be
used to purchase the needed
risers, carpeting and acces
sories for graduation. With
these, we will be able to pre
sent graduates with heads held
high.
These purchases will benefit
more than just graduation!
Band, choir, drama and school
assemblies will benefit, also, al
lowing us more professional
looking performances. Our goal
is to give our students a grad
uation to look forward to...
rather than having a dreary set
of chairs scattered on the stage
where graduates hope their
proud parents can see them.
We are asking for help. If
you would like to make a contri
bution to assist us in reaching
our goal, we would be most
grateful. Thank you for your
time and consideration.
Joe Strand
VHS Leadership Students
Vernonia
Vernonia is still a
“good ‘ol town”
To the Editor:
I’ve left the [Vernonia] area
and nothing much has changed
as far as the general town is
concerned. I grew up in the
Mist area. I’ve seen little
change in the buildings and the
economy. It’s still a nice little
logging town with the same old-
fashioned buildings there that
still have stories to tell about
themselves and the roles
they’ve played in the history of
the town.
I’ve been all over this coun
try in the course of my job as an
OTR truck driver (long-haul),
and I can honestly say that
there are only a handful of little
towns like this in the country. I
do think the residents of Ver
nonia should be proud.
Congratulations and good
bye!
L. Crawford
Panama City, Fla.
Sheriff seeks more
Posse volunteers
To the Editor:
Each year, the Columbia
County Sheriff’s Office adver
tises for volunteers for the
county Sheriff’s Posse. This
year, we are especially interest
ed in asking citizens who would
Please see page 21