Lorraine Blodgett: 100 years of Christmas

By Cara L. Dempski 

BOYCEVILLE — Lorraine Blodgett of rural Boyceville has seen a lot gifts, light, and fun spread out over a century’s worth of Christmases.

The former teacher and widow of the late Percy Blodgett still lives on the farm she and her husband bought in 1946. She has fond memories of Christmas Eve celebrations, church and school Christmas programs, and attending church in Boyceville on Christmas Eve.

Though her family is now scattered, Blodgett still hosts a Christmas Eve celebration at her home and then goes across the road to the home of her son and daughter-in-law, Earl and Marguerite Blodgett, on Christmas day.

Childhood Christmases

Orriss Lorraine Blodgett was born November 11, 1916, to George and Tilda (Flygstead) Peck in Hillsdale, Wisconsin. She was the eldest child of the family, and was five years old when her parents moved the family to a farm near Boyceville. 

Blodgett said her family was one of the first in the area to have electricity, and recalls her fascination that there were homes in the village of Boyceville that did not yet have it.

As a child, Blodgett loved getting gifts, even though there was never anything specific she asked Santa for.

“I don’t remember ever hoping for a special gift. We just kind of wanted what Santa Claus was going to bring us,” she explained.

Blodgett and her siblings hung stockings up every year, and there was always an orange in them on Christmas morning. In a time when such fruit was scarce and often only eaten on special occasions, the tangy sweetness of the orange was something Blodgett looked forward to.

She estimated it was around 1924 when she and her siblings were sitting with their parents and the hired workers eating Christmas Eve dinner when everyone heard a pounding on the roof, bells, and someone yelling “whoa.” A few minutes later, Santa Claus came down the stairs with presents for the children.

Blodgett said her infant brother received a toy one year that the hired men really enjoyed.

“My brother got a monkey that went up and down the wall by pulling on a string, and the hired men played with it until it broke,” Blodgett said, laughing.

Another year, Santa came down from the upstairs in a big fur coat with a bag full of presents for the children. Blodgett said she was maybe five years old, and it was the first time she received a doll for Christmas. Her younger sister was frightened of the big man in the red coat and would not go to him for her doll; Blodgett retrieved the doll for her and the two played with their toys for many years.

Other gifts Blodgett remembers include books such as “Lambie Wants to Learn” and “Lambie Gets Caught in the Quicksand.”

Blodgett remembers attending church at the Methodist church in Boyceville on Christmas Eve, and riding behind the family’s two draft horses pulling a sleigh to get there. Her father would drive the team into the livery shed, replace their bridles with halters, and cover them with the family’s lap robes to stay warm during the service.

She said she loved attending the church Christmas program and hearing the songs and seeing the decorations.

“Sometimes, it wasn’t much, but they decorated with what they had,” Blodgett said.

Christmas as a young woman

Blodgett married her late husband, Percy, over the Christmas holidays during World War II. Percy was in the service, and returned to his duties at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, after the wedding. Blodgett remained in the Boyceville area to finish teaching her final year of school before joining Percy in Ohio the following spring.

When Percy was transferred out of Ohio, Blodgett returned to Boyceville and went to work driving a team and skidding logs in the woods.

Blodgett and Percy bought the farm on which she still lives in 1946, and moved there with their eldest child, Frank, born in 1943. The couple welcomed their second child, Anne, in 1946, and another daughter, Beth, arrived in 1947. The youngest, Earl, was born in the 1950s, though Blodgett could not recall exactly what year.

All told, Blodgett taught in country schools for six years before moving to Ohio. After she and Percy purchased their farm, she was busy raising the children and did not return to teaching. She did serve as a substitute teacher in Boyceville until she was 72.

One thing she loved about teaching was the Christmas program.

“Children would do recitations, and sing songs. It was fun,” Blodgett explained.

She also loved attending the Christmas Eve church service and children’s program. 

“One year, one little boy stood up and yelled ‘I see you, Grandma’” Blodgett laughed. 

After the service, Blodgett’s family would have a special dinner of lutefisk and lefse before opening presents and going to bed.

Christmas present

Blodgett does not buy presents for family any more at Christmas, but that does not mean her loved ones do not receive gifts.

“I write out checks,” she stated. “That way they get what they want or need.”

Even though the menu no longer includes lutefisk – the family favors meatballs now – it does still include homemade lefse after Blodgett taught her grandchildren how to make the Norwegian treat. She still hosts the Christmas Eve meal, and she still opens gifts with the family after everyone is done eating.

Despite her children being as far away as Alaska, North Carolina, and Honduras, they make sure she has gifts and knows they are thinking about her. 

“Earl always gets me something special to open on Christmas Day when I’m at their house,” Blodgett said.

She said that she has enjoyed her 100 years of Christmases, but every day is a gift.