Image provided by: Nyssa Public Library; Nyssa, OR
About Nyssa gate city journal. (Nyssa, Or.) 1937-199? | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 1967)
THE NYSSA GATE Cil Y 1« X I HA PI 1.1 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1907 \ . NYSSA, OREGON Earn lias THE BEAUTY NOOK Alice Neiger ^Greeting« Jfc, /* FOR it) Christmas -vj ,ttF=p--ui DOLLS AND CHRISTMAS GO TOGETHER---and this doll with her golden curls and golden harp seems to symbolize the hap piness of the season. She’s one of more than 8,000 dolls in the Samuel F. Pryor International Doll Library, Greenwich, Conn. The Doll Library may be visited by appointment only. Because we realise how much our success is due to you, we are most sincerely appreciate OLYMPIC CLUB young I at heart! We thank you for Lore and Legend Express Happy Mood of Season From home to home, from country to country, Yule cele brations abound. The happy traditions of gift giving, home decorating, carol singing, card sending, candle lighting and tree trimming express the merri ment of the season. Popular folk customs of na tion after nation have been ab sorbed into the international legend and lore of the Yule- tide. Yet virtually every na- tion--and every home and fam ily, too--has its special way of ■WKWKWKkAWK celebrating Christmas, and its special memories ofChristmas past Carrying in Straw Straw is a traditional part of Christmas celebrations inSwe- den--in probable remembrance of the first Christmas when there was straw in the manger. While “carrying in the Christmas straw”is a tradition rather than a modern custom, Swedish people still make straw and wooden figures to hang on their Christmas trees. y® KM WK wk a« wk mu mc * wk w "It’s flm to get a doll for Christmas." This statement comes from a real authority, who is a for mer Marine, a world traveler and international airline exec utive--and who is also a man who has more dolls than anybody except Santa Claus) Collector Samuel F. Pryor is th«* founder of th«* International Doll Library in Greenwich, Conn., where more than 8,000 dolls ar«* gathered in fabulous variety. Begun in 1953 when he in herited 300 dolls from a friend, th«* still-growing collection in cludes hundreds of dolls searched «nit by Mr. Pryor him self, and it has also been aug mented by gifts from some of th«* thousands of visitors to the Doll Library--hence Mr. Pryor’s personal knowledge that a doll under th«' Christ mas tree is truly a source of delight. The Doll Library, so named because every doll lias a story to tell, is attractively housed in a 1792 barn, remodeled to providt* appropriate sittings for the dolls. Visits to the Doll Library are by appointment only. Here, there are antique dolls, historic dolls, craft dolls, reli gious dolls, dolls of every land and every era. The dolls in deed have much to tell to the serious student of world his tory and world civilization. But to Mr. Pryor, the impor tant thing about the dolls is that they are objects of affec tion--cherished by little girls waiting for Santa, and by ev eryone who loves dolls, to play with and admire. Along with their legacy of love, the dolls bring a record of mankind’s ingenuity. Among the antique dolls in Mr. Pryor’s collection is a 19th-century beauty who turns her head, flutters her eyelids, heaves her bosom and plays a lyre, to the tune of a hidden music box. >ther dolls in the Many Pryor collection make it plain that mechanical accomplish ments are by no means limited to the dolls of today. For in- stance, a group of early Ameri can dolls includes the "Auto- penpatetikos’’--a walking doll patented in 1862. Another kind of ingenuity is manifest in the craft dolls, lovingly fashioned by thought ful hands from virtually any and every convenient material old potato Among them are "Mr. and Mrs. Crab,” dolls with faces made from crab claws. These* do-it-yourself dolls were fea tured in "Godey’s Lady’s Book" for May 1867, with illustrations of Mr. and Mrs. Crab and "how to" instructions. Among the Library’s little in habitants, dolls of other lands form a miniature United Na tions. A turbaned Brazilian dancer, a Spanish matador with cap«* and sword, a Japanese geisha, a Belgian lady, a Ger man tourist, an Arabian desert prince, an Argentinian gaucho-- the list Is seeming endless. Differences may divide na- tions—but not in the Doll Li brary. Mr. Pryor’s dolls get an opportunity to enact th«* holiday spirit of peace and good will, all year. As a pastime, he likes to bring dolls of many nations together in friendly groups. ADRIAN MERCANTILE “ George and Lois \\ ho’s Pelsnickie? (Continued From Pagel3) while St. Nick rewarded good children with gifts, Pelsnickie had the unwelcome task of pun ishing naughty boys and girls with “gifts" of lumps of coal and switches. The Doll Library’s Pels- nickle sports Santa Claus whiskers, wears a coat of shaggy fur and holds a bundle of switches. While Pelsnickie and switches are usually asso ciated, a study of Christmas lore reveals that in earlier legends he traditionally carried a birch cane, says Mrs. Jun«* Anderson Douglass, whose responsibilities as curator of the Pryor Doll Library include researching and cataloguing each doll. Like St. Nicholas, Pelsnickie was a European figure, known primarily in Holland and Ger many. He came by his name very logically, since he was generally believed to wear a a fur coat. “Pelz" is theGer- man word for fur. Today, the custom of having Pelsnickie appear at Christ mas time is still observed in some Pennsylvania Dutch homes, according to the editors of The New Book of Knowl edge. with cheer g WK WK Mt W WK WK WK WK WK W ,. r B'S, jT our b«»t! / Merry Christmas rr- I iirirMi rs Zinn s 76 Service CHARLES and PEGGY ZINN OWYHEE STEEL The Martins our faithful old Owyhee Junction richly W hot is Santa carrying in hit bag? All our best wishes for a happy holiday season, plus our sincere thanks for your confidence in us! PARKER LIMBER AND HARDWARE ADRIAN friends, to our cherished new friends, and to those whose friendship . we hope to earn, we / , extend the glad If « Greetings of this Yuletide season. if OWYHEE TRUCK & IMPLEMENT CO. B & M EQUIPMENT COMPANY NYSSA, OREGON Phon. 372-2239 1100 Adrian Blvd. f
