This time of year probably stirs up more family memories than any other time of year. Families gather during this holiday season to share meals together, share gifts, and maybe watch a movie or football game together but mostly to make new memories, especially for the youngest and newest members of a family. My friend and former publicist, Mychal Wilmes, wrote in a recent article in his ‘Farmboy Memories’ column that he writes for the Post-Bulletin, about how on the farm, holiday gatherings were an escape from the bitter cold. They were anyway, until it was chore time again.
We ‘older’ folks will remember that it was snowier and colder back in the day. At least that’s what we tell the younger generations. And our parents always told us that in their youth, there was even more snow and cold than what my generation experienced as a kid. If you take the time to look at the weather records, there were certainly years that would say this was true. The late 1880’s had some of the worst winter weather on record in the Midwest. It was made worse by the lack of good heating and hot or cold running water that we’ve grown accustomed to in the recent decades. Back then, and well into the 20th century, you had to, during wintertime, put layers of clothes on to use the bathroom, which for many was the little wooden building behind the house. Bathroom is a misnomer because no one took a bath in there unless you fell in. It was the outhouse.
1936 is another year that brings back weather memories. First, it was the decade of the dust bowl era in the U.S. My dad, who grew up in Kanabec County about halfway between Cambridge and Mora, always told me about the winter of 1936, where on the farm near Brunswick, it never got above zero for 6 straight weeks. And to add insult to injury, the summer of ‘36’ was one of the hottest on record. Mychal wrote that his dad, who farmed in LeSueur County, remembered 1936 for the very same reason.
I remember some major winter storms too, but in my day we had more modern conveniences, like indoor plumbing and reliable furnaces. And it was a lot easier to have woodburning stoves and fireplaces. With the advent of chainsaws and wood splitters, harvesting firewood was made easier over the latter half of the 20th century. My dad always told me that if they had chainsaws back in his day, there wouldn’t have been any trees left up north. Not sure that’s true but it was harder to harvest firewood and have it cured and dry enough to burn.
Hopefully, our memories of Christmas 2024 will not be related to weather issues. My earliest memories of Christmas time on the farm had to deal with food and Santa Claus. My mom was a big lefse maker and it seemed everyone in my family except me couldn’t wait to gorge themselves on the Norwegian potato tortilla. That turned out to be a blessing for my mom. Had I liked the lefse, she would have had to make a lot more to have enough for the holidays. I would just look at that lefse and shiver to think people actually liked it. And what really sealed the deal, was to see my dad make a Norwegian burrito by filling a huge lefse with lutefisk. It would be over a foot long with melted butter dripping out the one end while my dad would be taking huge bites off the other end. I have no pictures of this, which I’m not sure is fortunate or unfortunate, but I can picture it in my mind and that conjures up some weird holiday memories. Today, I can tolerate a little lutefisk but the lefse, I still pass on that.
As far as the Santa memories, my parents told me that since we did not have a chimney for Santa to climb down, he would probably just stop by the front door and leave something for me. I found it strange on one the first years I can remember; Santa brought me a new winter coat and underwear. I thought Santa needed to step up his game here. Eventually he did, but then he forgot about me around the age of ten, but yet he remembered my younger sister Maureen. I thought, even then, that Santa ought to see a doctor about his failing memory. But it’s all good, I have many heartfelt and happy Christmas memories and I hope you and yours make more good memories this Christmas.