The Timely Remarks (Refugio, Tex.), Vol. 12, No. 7, Ed. 1 Friday, December 22, 1939 Page: 9 of 16
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Refugio County Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Dennis M. O’Connor Public Library.
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The News from Every Section of Refugio County
Vol. XII.—No. 6
REFUGIO, REFUGIO COUNTY, TEXAS, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1939
Section Two
Christmases Past Are Jewels of Recollection in the Casket of Memory
Past Yuletides, Symbolic of the Bygone
Christmas Days, Brought to Light by
Writer—Earliest Recorded Celebration
in 1835 When Texans Fought at Goliad
By Hobart Huson.
HRISTMAS PAST! Christmas Present! Chrust-
mas Future!
Christmas Present in Refugio belongs to US.
We know of a certainty it will be well taken
care of and enjoyed. It will then fade into the dim sequences
of Yuletides that have come and gone. Christmas Future!
It must be left to the future. But Christmas Past are jewels
bf recollection in the casket of memory. Let us open the
casket and in the light of another Christmas season, select
som eof the gems symbolic of by-gone Christmas Days and
of the Refugio people who enjoyed them.
The earliest Christmas celebrations in this section of
which we have an acount, was in 1835. Texas was at war
for her independence and the citizens of Refugio County were
in the forefront of the fight. Most of the able-bodied men
were at Fort Goliad in the garrison under the brave Captain
Philip Dimmit. This remarkable leader conceived that the
best way to celebrate Christmas in 1835 was to hang Inde-
pendence and the citizens of Re-*F-
fugio County were in the forefront
of* the tight. Ivf'Tst cf the t Mo-
bodied men were at Fort Goliad
in the garrison under the brave
Captain Philip Dimmit. This re-
markable leader conceived that
the best way to celebrate Christ-
mas in 1835 was to hang Inde-
pendence as a gift for Texans on
the Liberty tree. About the mid-
dle of November, 1835, he called
a meeting of all settlers in the
vicinity of Goliad to be held at
the fort and on December 20 about
a hundred, including the garrison,
assembled. A declaration of in-
Christmas dinner you were eating.
The poverty of the times is indi-
cated by the hats made of corn
shucks, which most of us wore.
Then men’s shirts and women’s
dresses were home-spun and dyed
with dyes made from native ma-
terials. The children ran about
barefooted until they were almost
grown. The boys, for lack of pants,
wore long shirts which looked like
dresses, until they were good-sized
lads.
“There was not much religious
celebration at Christmas in the
post-Civil War period. There was
an unfinished stone Catholic
Church, but no priest regularly
stationed here. Father Paday
‘Merry Christmas,
Mary Christmas,’
Says Santa Claus
dependence was drawn up, adopt-; would ride horseback to Refugio
; at intervals and hold services in
an old ramshackle wooden budd-
ed, signed by most of the men,
and expressed to San Felipe. The | ing on tRe missi0n ground. There
first flag of Texian Independence
was then raised in the parade
grounds cf the fort. That was the
Christmas celebration for the year
were no preachers of other denom-
inations in the town in 1868 or for
several years afterwards.
“There were several saloons, r
barrel houses, in Refugio in the
1835, and it was^ many years Jae- i1870s and many of the citizens,
" true to the traditions of their Irish
fore the people of this county had
another celebration.
Until 1868, we do not have ac-
counts of special Christmas activi-
ties in this county. From 1868
to 1875, St. Mary’s was the prin-
cipal town of the county and we
may well suppose that prior • to
1861 the Holiday season received
proper attention. The Civil War,
18661-1865, impoverished the coun-
ty and lean indeed were the means
of life. The Reconstruction Era
from 1866 to 1876 was dark,
gloomy and poverty-stricken. It is
during this black period that our
first trustworthy acount of
Christmas begins. In 1867, Hugh
Rea, father of our beloved Judge
W. L. Rea, was elected county
treasurer and came to Refugio to
take office. In 1868 his family,
including Will, moved to the town.
Judge Rea states:
“In regard to Christmas cele-
brations in Refugio when I was a
boy and young man, the first
Christmas that I spent in Refugio
was in 1868, when the negro
troops of the Union Army were
stationed here. Those Reconstruc-
tion Days were hard days. We
hear the “right to personal lib-
erty” glibly discussed in the pres-
ent time, but in that old post-war
period the only personal liberty
the white people of Refugio Coun-
ty had was to go hunting. Money
and food were scarce, so was
clothing, so you can see that there
wasn’t anything extra for Christ-
mas celebrations. We simply
didn’t live. We just stayed here.
“The Christmas dinners in 1868
to the middle of the 187s were
principally made up of wild game,
which was plentiful in those days.
Possibly a few sweet cakes were
added, so you knew it was a
(KMHB
ancestry, took on ‘a wee bit o’
cheer’ at Christmas time. Some of
them, it might be said, did not
wait until Christmas to begin
their libations. In fact, extra
drinking of spiritous liquors at
Yuletide increased as the years
rolled on, until finally the bishop
of the diocese ordered '’midnight
mass on Christmas Eve to cease
because of drunken people gath-
ering in the vicinity of the church.
“As times began to get better
in the 1880s and 1890s, Christmas
began to be more formally ob-
served in Refugio. By that time
there were permanently sta-
tioned priests and pastors and the
religious aspect of Christmas was
given emphasis. In the Catholic
Church the custom of a midnight
mass on Christmas Eve began.
Some years such was held, some
years not. In years when no mid-
night mass was celebrated, the
belles and beaux of the vicinity
would have a big dance at the
court house on Christmas Eve, or
Christmas Day. When such masses
were celebrated, the dance was
given on December 26.”
Henry Strauch, another old cit-
izen, says:
“On Christmases during the ’90s
the young men would go out on
the prairie and cut a large live-
oak tree and set it up in the old
court house. Everybody in town
would fix up packages of presents
for their friends and bring them
to the court house to be hung on
the Christmas tree.
“On Christmas Eve, or Christ-
mas night,the people would gather
in the old court room when the
gifts would be distributed to the
(Continued on Page 2)
Sun’s ‘Virginia’
Still Has Faith
In Santa Claus
“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.
He exists as certainly as love and gen-
erosity and devotion exist, and you
know that they abound and give to life
its highest beauty and joy.”
Forty-two years ago an editorial
writer for the New York Sun penned
these now-famous lines in answer to
a scrawled letter from a little girl
named Virginia, whose faith in San-
ta had been shaken.
Today Virginia is grown up, mar-
ried, and serves as assistant prin-
cipal in an east side New York
school. Her name is Dr. Laura Vir-
ginia Douglas and this Christmas
she’s playing Santa Claus not only
to her pupils but her own daughter.
Meanwhile, in 42 years she’s evolved
some ideas of her own on what to
tell children about Santa Claus.
Pink-cheeked, vivacious, yet shy
and hesitant in speaking of personal
matters. Dr. Douglas is not in favor
of breaking the news boldly to a
child that there is no Santa Claus.
He will learn naturally, she says, as
he turns from the free, imaginative
stage of early childhood to an in-
terest in the world around him.
When she first became old enough
to realize the full meaning of the
Sun’s editorial, she felt badly be-
cause poor children were not able
to have Christmas gifts as tangible
evidence of Santa’s existence. Lat-
er, she says, she grew to realize that
material gifts were riot so impor-
tant as the faith which even the very
poor child could have in something
spiritual.
-^--
A leg band from a mourning
dove killed in Travis County Octo-
ber 1, 1939, was banded on June
11, 1939, at Lewis, Iowa.
-*-
Beaver, recently trapped in the
South Central Texas area and re-
leased in East Texas, show signs
of becoming permanently fixed.
Don’t Marry the Girl
Day After Christmas
If you believe the early monks,
don’t select the day after Christ-
mas to get married, start a new
job or put on that new suit. It’s
Childermass day, commemorat-
ing the slaughter of the Holy In-
nocents by Herod, and in the ear-
ly days was considered an occa-
sion of the greatest ill-omen.
Children, according to legend,
were soundly whipped Childer-
mass day to impress on their
minds the story of the baby mar-
tyrs.
So intense was the fear of this
unfortunate festival that the coro-
nation of England’s King Edward
IV was postponed in order to
avoid the fatal date.
♦
White House Maintains
Traditions 139 Years Old
WASHINGTON. — Santa Claus
makes his 139th visit to the White
House this Christmas, carrying on a
tradition started December 25, 1800,
when Kris Kringle called on little
Suzannah, granddaughter of Presi-
dent John Adams from Massachu-
setts.
The White House in those days
was in an unfinished state and the
great barnlike rooms were only
scantily furnished, providing a great
contrast to the beautifully appointed
mansion of today. Yet the same
joyous spirit prevailed on that
Christmas morning, more than a
century and a quarter ago, as that
found in the White House this Yule-
tide.
From early years of our country,
Presidents have set aside the heavy
burden of state and made merry
Christmas day with their families.
Goose Is Favorite
For Yuletide Feast
And Easily Fixed
Goose, which is the traditional
Christmas fowl just as turkey is
Thanksgiving’s dish, is easily pre-
pared and is delightfully tasteful if
handled correctly. Not until recent
years has goose been properly ap-
preciated, largely because it hasn’t
been prepared properly.
Geese vary in weight from 8 to 12
pounds or more. Watch for soft feet
and a pliable bill (if you dress your
own bird) as an indication of proper
age for cooking.
An excellent dressing is the apple-
and-raisin variety, made with the
What’s In a name? Plenty, if it
happens to be Mary Christmas, or
Santa Claus, and that’s actually hap-
pened.
{Both Evansville, Ind., and Racine,
Wis., have their Mary Christmas,
and at Marshall,
Mo., there’s a
jolly fellow whose
last name is
Claus, and whose
parents chris-
tened him Santa.
Evansville’s
Mary Christmas
comes from an
old family which
has had a Mary
in each genera- .
tion. Racine’s Mary Christmas
Mary Christmas got that way by
marrying a fellow named Samuel
Christmas, and she’s now a tele-
phone operator. Which explains that
strangely personal and timely mes-
sage long distance operators hear
cut of Racine around Christmas
time: “This is long distance, opera-
tor—Mary Christmas!”
Racine’s Mary Christma:\ who is
short, chubby and looks just'like- the
artist’s conception of Mrs. Santa
Claus, gets hundreds of fan mail let-
ters every year. Three years ago
she appeared on
| a Yuletide radlb
| program a fid has
| been so deluged
......... J with fan mail qv-
^lll^er since that she’s
* founded a “shut-
k ''--v. jin” club which
^ !has members in
40 states, Cana-
l§|f da, Hawaii, In-
dia, China and
New Zealand.
Mary Christmas Marshall-s San-
ta Claus is similarly Christmas-
minded. Each Yuletide he tries to
answer the fan letters which come
from all corners of the globe, many
in such strange foreign languages
that he can’t reply. He’s much in
demand for church parties and oth-
er Christmas affairs. Santa is a
plumber on weekdays, a vegetable
gardener on the side and a preacher
in the Church of God at Blue Lick,
Mo., every Sunday. Two years ago,
when plumbing business was bad,
he was grateful for a $250 check
sent him by Mae West, the actress.
In Roslindale, near Boston, lives
an Ambrose Claus who with his wife
last year celebrated his golden wed-
ding anniversary. Like all other folks
named Claus, they seem to have a
lion’s share of Christmas spirit.
DON’TS-
U
Safety Is Watchword
For a Merry Christmas
Only tall men are being accept-
ed for United States army duty in
Panama, because of the heavy un-
derbrush. It can be mighty em-
barrassing losing an army some-
where in the grass.
A
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Allow 20 to 25 minutes to the
pound for roasting bird in 325-
degree oven.
following proportions: One pound of
apples, peeled and diced; one-fourth
pound of raisins; one tablespoon of
brown sugar, and three cups of
bread cubes. Salt to taste. Al-
though this dressing is dry, the
juices from the bird will make it
tasty.
Here are a few “don’ts” for
Christmas, recommended by safety
authorities:
1. Don’t give small children toys
involving alcohol, kerosene or gaso-
line engines. They may tip over and
set the house on fire.
2. Don’t permit small children to
run electrical toys without the su-
pervision of an adult.
3. Don’t permit small children to
use toy movie projectors without us-
ing safety film which burns slowly.
Ordinary film burns explosively and
gives off smoke and fumes which
may cause death if inhaled.
4. Don’t use candles or light ex-
tra fires without being extremely
careful, especially in regard to can-
dles on trees.
5. Don’t wear inflammable cos-
tumes, especially Santa Claus
beards, without fireproofing them.
6. Don’t use inflammable orna-
ments and evergreen decorations.
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Jones, J. L. The Timely Remarks (Refugio, Tex.), Vol. 12, No. 7, Ed. 1 Friday, December 22, 1939, newspaper, December 22, 1939; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1098580/m1/9/?q=december+221939+hipolito: accessed June 13, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dennis M. O’Connor Public Library.