As we approach the holiday season my memory drifts back to Christmas trees that we had once upon a time. In my childhood days in the 1950's, my dad would load us all into the family station wagon and we would drive up into the Mendocino National Forest west of the Sacramento Valley to cut a tree. One year another family joined us in their car. Once up in the mountains, my dad lead the way up a single lane gravel forest road to about the 4000 foot elevation. We ran into snow at some point as we continued our journey with no tire chains, no shovel, no food, maybe some jackets and a hand saw for cutting the trees. We ended up at the Board Tree Campground, where the depth of snow prevented us from going any further. We may have been 45 miles from home. After cutting a couple of trees and strapping them to the roof of both cars we started our trip back home. Shortly after leaving the campground we became stuck trying to go uphill in 4 to 6 inches of snow. Sticks were utilized to clear snow from the tires in hopes of gaining some traction. Soon some of us were out pushing the cars as we became wet and cold. How long it took us to finally get home I don't recall, but it was way after dark. I believe that was our last outing for cutting a Christmas tree and they were all purchased from a lot after that adventure.
In the 1990's, while living in Eugene I put up a Christmas tree in the living room of my small house on 26th Avenue. At the time there were half a dozen cats and my dog Jack in the house and they all seem to want to play with the tree or the ornaments on it. My solution to this problem was cut off the bottom 3 feet and hang the upper portion from the ceiling. From the outside people could not tell that it was hanging from the ceiling. It worked, the animals no longer fooled with it.
One year Celia bought a fake tree from the Sutherlin Good Will and we set it up in our living room. We liked it so much we kept it there for the entire year until she took it back to Good Will after it served its purpose for two Christmas seasons. .
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
I remember Dad cut off the top of a pine tree in our back yard in Stockton one Christmas when money was scarce. Honestly trees look better in the outside or in a forest, than in a house. Signed, Scrooge
ReplyDeleteWhat great memories; you two were very creative!! We too grew up, driving into the mountains, with our thermos of hot cocoa, to cut a 'Charlie Brown' tree, which needed to be thinned from the forest. The tree was usually pushed flat against a wall, or even squeezed into a corner to make it look more full. Even today, our trees are cut from the forest; they are eclectic and international-themed. We still have the home-made ornaments created in our childhood.
ReplyDeleteI've gone with live trees for many years .... but am thinking of going artificial (aka "fake") this year for simplicity's sake. Do you think that with a little pine or cedar scent, it will suffice to bring some holiday spirit into our living room?
ReplyDeleteSorry Scrooge, is from Neva-DUH! How does one go "in" the outside. Just "outside" will suffice! Trees look more natural outside.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful stories. All three would make for good episodes of a TV Christmas show or perhaps a movie! :) Thanks for sharing, Mike. Keep sharing those memories.
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