REMEMBRANCES OF CHRISTMASES PAST: Jean and Marv Booth spent their first Christmas together in the U.S. Army

PROTECTED CONTENT

If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.

Username

Password

Login

Lost your password?

Username and Password Help

Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.

Email

Submit

← Back

By Missy Klatt

Jean and Marv Booth have lived in the Glenwood City area for just about all of their lives. 

Jean was the middle child of Art and Ruth Logghe with brother Dave four years older and brother John who came along nine years after Jean. They grew up on a farm about four miles north of Glenwood City. Jean comments that they lived on a hill down a long driveway and nobody could see them from the road. She goes on to say that it was very secluded and beautiful.

Jean states that she doesn’t remember many gifts that she got when she was young probably because they weren’t that big a deal but she relates the story of one Christmas when she had her heart set on a special gift. She wanted a toy farm set that she thinks she probably saw at Steffan’s Hardware in Glenwood City. 

“It had the little cattle and the little machinery and stuff and that’s what I wanted,” laments Jean. 

So under the Christmas tree there was a package and Jean thought “yep that’s it and I’ll be danged it was for Dave and he was getting a camera and a flash and everything, it wasn’t for me.” 

She never did get that toy farm set. Jean was probably about seven or eight at the time.

Jean states that she was more into farming things. She said that she got a doll once but she never played with dolls, she was happier being out on the farm.

When they were younger Santa would bring their gifts on Christmas Eve. Jean recalls that on Christmas Eve she would have to go to the barn and help milk. Then her mom would disappear for a little while which at the time Jean didn’t think any thing of it but of course looking back now, she knows why her mom would disappear.

Jean was about seven or eight when her “dear brother”, Dave told her that there was no Santa Claus.

One year for Christmas her Grandma Logghe knitted her a pair of mittens which she thought was really special but usually she said she would get a fancy hanky from Grandma Logghe.

One special gift that Jean recalls receiving from her parents when she was about ten, was a portable record player. She had one 45 record of Elvis’ first record. Her girlfriend, Cheryl Klinger, would come over and listen to it and then they would scream, aahhh, like all the girls did at the time when they would swoon over Elvis. “That was my biggest, happiest gift that I ever got.”

Jean went to the Camp 9 school when she was growing up. Putting on their Christmas program back then was always exciting enthused Jean. 

“The older boys would go to the wood shed and haul in the planks of wood to put the stage up in front of the school.” That’s where they would perform their skits and sing songs. 

She also remembers that each one of them would have to recite a little piece that they had to memorize. Santa would come to these programs as well and hand out little brown bags to the children that contained an apple, ribbon candy and some shelled nuts.

Jean says the family would have a Charlie Brown Christmas tree that they would get from Ted’s Confectionery store in Glenwood City. They really couldn’t get a bigger tree because the house that Jean grew up in was very small and didn’t have a living room. It was just a kitchen and the other end came to a corner and that’s where the tree would go.

To decorate the tree Jean would make construction paper chains and they had bubble lights.

On Christmas Eve they would pick up Grandma Logghe, who didn’t drive, from town and she would spend part of the evening with them and then they would all go to Midnight Mass at the Catholic Church in Glenwood City. What Jean remembers about that was that they would always sit in front of the beautiful manger scene. She said the lights would be off and the choir would be singing and she can remember Paul Murtha’s beautiful voice. She goes on to say that they always went to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, “That was important for our Catholic family to do that.”

As for special treats at Christmas time, Jean said her mom’s specialty was making divinity candy and fudge. She also made fruit cake. “Mom would make fruit cake a good month or six weeks before Christmas and put it down in the fruit cellar and she would pour brandy in it. And oh gosh, it was so good.” recalls Jean.

Marv

Marv grew up just south of Glenwood City. He was the second oldest of Harris and Pearl’s seven children: Harris Jr., Marvin, Judi, Steven, David, Annette, and Sandi. Marv too grew up in a small house. He said it was about 24 x 24 with two bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen with no running water, no toilets and for a long time no electricity. He said some of the kids would sleep in the living room and he was never quite sure how they stayed asleep when Santa came and delivered his gifts in the same room. 

As for gifts, they never got much just what would fit in their stockings, usually and apple and an orange and some candy and nuts. “Then you’d get a piece of clothing, it would be socks or underwear that fit in the bag and if they didn’t they’d be in a little box on the floor.” remarked Marv. He does state however that they usually got a family gift, a sled or something.

One year when Marv was seven or eight years old, they got skis and they had heard/seen about Olympic skiers flying through the air so they decided to make their own ski jump. Marv laughs and comments “Very seldom did you ever have your skis actually hang on because all they had was that little leather strap,” he chuckles “we had lots of accidents.”

His mom would bake cookies a week or two before Christmas, usually cutout ones. On Christmas day they always had a big meal. 

They too bought their tree in town at Ted’s and it would sit about a foot away from the old oil burner in the living room and basically in front of the door to the bedroom. “So you had to walk all the way around that Christmas tree to get into the bedroom,” Marv laughs. Jean interjects, “With it being so close to the oil burner you’re lucky it didn’t catch on fire.”

Marv said that 95 percent or more of the Christmas gifts were bought at Steffan’s or maybe the Gamble store in Glenwood City.

Marv went to school in town at Glenwood City Elementary and he recalls the Christmas programs being in the afternoon. Marv who wasn’t a big fan of school in general hated the programs because he was an introvert and would hyperventilate at the thought of getting up in front of a group of people to speak. Marv also recalls that his parents rarely made it to any of the programs because his dad was always away hauling milk and his mother didn’t drive.

Like the school Christmas programs, church Christmas programs weren’t much fun for Marv either. The bright spot being that they usually got a bag of goodies with an apple, an orange some ribbon candy and nuts.

On Christmas Eve their neighbor, Cliff Olson, would bring them to church, the Methodist Church in town. It was while they were at church that Santa would sometimes come. Other years his mother would have a heck of a time getting the kids to sleep so Santa could come.

Marv also remembers when Santa would come to town. Sometimes he would arrive by sleigh, sometimes on the back of a truck. Everyone would be lined up along main street for his arrival. Then they would have a free movie for all the kids at the theater and Marv states that when you went out the back door of the theater, Santa would hand you a bag of treats with many of the usual afore mentioned items in the bag.

Marv and Jean

Marv and Jean were married on August 30, 1966 and the next day they got a postcard in the mail from Uncle Sam that stated on the 15th of September Marv was drafted and had to report for duty. Fortunately for them he did get to have leave and was able to come home for their first Christmas together. Jean recalls that their gift to each other that year was a long sleeved blue shirt. She said there was no money so they were just happy to be together.

Their next Christmas was quite the story in itself. For awhile Marv was stationed at Fort Polk in Louisiana where Jean lived with him for a while. Then he was transferred to Fort Hood, 300 miles south of Dallas, TX. Jean was also able to go and live with him there.

Jean tells the story that at Christmas time she was eight months pregnant and the army doctors at the time were very strict about things. One being that you weren’t allowed to gain more than 20 pounds during your pregnancy and the other, if you were eight months pregnant and beyond you weren’t allowed to travel anywhere.

At the time they thought, okay we can’t go home but they had three friends that needed a ride to the airport in Dallas and each of them said we’ll give you $20 if you take us to the airport. So they all got in the car and Jean remarks “we got $60 dollars in our pocket, we’re going home. We figured we’re already 300 miles north we might as well keep on going.”

They drove home, even though they weren’t supposed to. Jean said it was a little scary thinking what would happen if she went into labor because there weren’t many hospitals around in some of the small towns on their way north.

They made it home only to find out that Jean’s mom was in the hospital having a hysterectomy that she hadn’t even told them about. So Jean said it was a different Christmas. Marv said that they made the trip up and back all on a three day pass. Basically Marv drove 24 hours straight to get there and 24 hours back. Jean happily stated, “But we got to go home for Christmas.”

When they got back Jean was due to go to the doctor and when they discovered that she had gained five pounds in those three days she got holy heck for that.

Jean and Marv eventually had three children, Steve, Brenda, and Amy. When the kids were young they would make cookies and always have a big meal at Christmas with their parents out if possible.

Gift giving was usually simple with usually only one big gift for the kids. Sometimes they had stockings and sometimes not depending on the year.

Jean tells of a Christmas where Amy wanted a Crayola caddy for Christmas. They had gone to the cities and looked all over for it and couldn’t find one so they came back to Glenwood and there it was at Steffan’s.

They always had a tree when the kids were little but if it was bought or cut depended on the year. Some years they would make homemade ornaments for the tree.

On Christmas Eve they would go the Methodist Church and often drove separate cars so one of them could sneak back and set out presents from Santa. Others years they would have stuff hidden and have Jean’s mom or dad put them out for them. Then when they got back from church they would open their gifts, a tradition that they still carry on today.

One year they had one really special family gift and that was a big keyboard, which they said was a challenge to get in the house.

Marv who was a mail carrier for many years would get gifts from people on his route and Jean always had him wait until Christmas Eve before opening them all so there were lots of gifts under the tree. At a point the kids would get tired of their dad opening all his gifts.

Today

Today Marv and Jean have five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Most of the family still is able to get together on Christmas Eve where they all go to church together, taking turns as to whose church they attend, and then gather at Jean and Marv’s for food and gift giving. After the gift opening they have a family tradition where they all have Tom & Jerrys with the younger kids having virgin ones.

They also have a tradition where they make Marv’s “Loaded” Chex mix and give it as a gift to a lot of people. Marv however says he’s ready to retire but Jean says we’ll do it one more year.

Jean also tries to make something every year for her kids. One year she mad a little table runner, seen in the photo with this poem, tucked in the back: 

Out of the blue

I thought of you

To my fabric stash I did go

To find Christmas colors, to put in a row

I got my sewing machine to run

Oh, it was so much fun

Then to quilt it by hand 

took lots of time, but turned out grandmother’s

Love was sent in each stitch

Please do not give it a pitch

So every Christmas, take it out

to remember Mom, without a doubt

One of Jean’s favorite gifts that she received in recent years was a plaque that Steve gave her that said “She who dies with the most fabric wins”. Jean remarks that she has a basement full of fabric that she’ll probably never use up. She jokes that when she dies, the Holy Cross Quilters will get all the fabric that’s left.