I am glad I have three sisters in my family. I am number two of 4 girls born in a five-year time span. Mom and Dad provided the main course of my DNA. Good genes and strong moral values sustained [...]
I am glad to perpetuate my mother’s tradition of organization and dedication to a well-set table. In the upcoming days, and sometimes weeks, of a large family gathering, mom polished [...]
One Christmas I decided that I needed to really get into the spirit and play Santa. I cobbled together the best costume possible with the meager resources at hand. Then I made my sisters play [...]
As a child, we ate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day feasts in our dining room. Mom loved to keep the tradition alive of serving a flaming fruit cake on Christmas Eve. I personally did not like the [...]
Two special treats appeared at Christmastime when I was a child. One was clementines. Today the smell of that little citrus gem immediately takes me back to the one that was always in the toe of [...]
My parents bought our home in Ames, New York in 1951. A year later, I arrived and joined my sister. By 1955, we were a family of six. I have called it my home ever since. At Christmastime my [...]
My mother’s brother and his family lived in Germany. Every Christmas we waited for a big wooden crate to arrive from Europe packed with beautiful gifts and German treats. One year, he sent [...]
I purchased our Christmas Pickle in the late 80’s and with it added a pickle hunt to my family’s traditions. On Christmas Eve, I hid the pickle deep within the multitude of ornaments [...]
My mother and Nana were great bakers. I still use the Betty Crocker spritz cookie recipe for my Christmas butter cookies. One year Nana made Christmas pinafores for the four of us. She made them [...]
Mom would select a Saturday afternoon in early November for an appointment with Canajoharie’s photographer, Maurice LeBel. He arrived with his tripod, fancy camera, flood lights on poles, [...]