REMEMBRANCES OF CHRISTMASES PAST: Karen Marlette – Remembers her brother played Santa one year
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Karen Marlette
By Missy Klatt
GLENWOOD CITY — Karen Marlette was the fourth child born to Dewey and Minnie Marlette. After three older brothers, Myron, Lloyd, and Dean, all who were three or four years apart in age, along came baby Karen seven years later.
Karen tells the story, that at the hospital her dad came in and told her mom that she had a redhead. She started crying and she cried and cried, ‘there’s no redheads in the family, where did she come from?’ Her mom was quite upset. “Here he had the baby next to me.” relates Karen. She goes on to say that her mom was so mad at him for getting her so upset.
Karen is a self professed farm girl and when her older brothers were no longer around the farm, Karen became her dad’s right hand “Man”. For the most part they farmed on a farm on County Road X outside of Glenwood City but Karen also noted that they lived for a little while on Rt. 128 in the Camp 9 school area when she was in 1st and 2nd grade and then they moved over to X, later they moved up north of Connorsville and she went to the Hillson school but ended back on X where she finished the eighth grade.
The reason for all this moving around was due to her brothers. She said that every time one of them got married her dad would start them on the farm and then they would move on and they would comeback to take over again.
As for Christmas traditions at home she remembers her mom, grandma and her aunt making Lefse, Krumkake and Rosettes. Her mom’s family was Norwegian as you can tell. When she was little they didn’t let her help because of the hot grease. She happily stated that she did get to eat the ones that broke. She admits that she has never been much of a cook but she can milk a cow and drive a tractor.
Karen screws up her face as she recalls their Christmas Eve meal, “We had to have oysters with the milk and the butter and those slimy things.” However, Karen admits what was really good was the milk with the butter in it with salt and pepper and crackers but not the oysters.
On Christmas day they always had a big meal and all her brothers and their families would come home. Karen doesn’t remember any particular food that they had but there was always plenty of it. “We always ate good, that’s why I was so little.” jokes Karen
Karen Marlette as she looked in the sixth grade at age 11.
It was Karen’s job to decorate. She commented that she would get mad at the real tree and start throwing the icicles on it and then her mom would get mad at her. Karen can’t remember for sure but she’s guessing that her dad usually cut down the tree from somewhere on the farm.
As for ornaments. Karen said that they had some store bought as well as some homemade ones because they always had to make them at school. For most of those early years Karen went to the Best Valley school. She laughs when she talks about making the ornaments, “We had to make Christmas ornaments and then they would fall apart. Those were the days.”
When asked about Santa visiting the house when she was little, Karen remarks that she wouldn’t go to bed because she wanted to make sure she got presents. She chuckles as she notes “Sometimes he didn’t have any cookies because we ate them all!”
One year Santa brought Karen a sled but she doesn’t recall any other big gifts. “We didn’t have much for Christmas as far as gift giving, I think we got one gift and that was it.”
Karen remembers coming to town (Glenwood City) to see Santa where they would get a bag of peanuts and sometimes candy and they they would go to the free shows that they would have at the theater for kids at Christmas time.
Santa Dean
One of Karen’s fondest Christmas memories was when her brother Dean was tasked to play Santa at the School program. Karen was in the third or fourth grade at Best Valley School and unbeknownst to Karen, Dean was the Santa that year, that is until his fatal mistake. Seems when Dean got to the school he didn’t have anything on his hands and wanted to cover them up so he found Karen’s coat hanging up and took her mittens to wear.
“I remember ma having a tizzy fit, ‘why did he go in her coat and wear her mittens, she’s going to know who he is’.” Karen laughs.
She goes on to say she was so excited, “That’s my brother, that’s my brother.”
“My old green mittens that had a flower or something on top.” Karen recalls.
The school Christmas programs were always a big neighborhood event and quite often they would put on a play as part of the program. Karen recalls being the narrator a couple of years. She said they would also sing songs stating that they probably couldn’t carry a tune. She also noted that they usually got a goodie bag with an apple and sometimes an orange and hard candy and maybe a cookie and popcorn balls.
Karen went to Our Saviors Church when she was growing up. She and her mom would go to church on Christmas Eve saying that her dad would never go. If they didn’t make it on Christmas Eve they would go on Christmas Day.
Karen who worked in St. Paul at the same bank for 46 years, never married or had kids of her own but she’s always been close to her nieces and nephews who all live in the general area. She would come home every weekend and holiday and later moved in with her mom and took care of her.
Unfortunately one of Karen’s saddest Christmas memories is when her mom died on Christmas Day at Glenhaven.
Now a days for Christmas, Karen goes to one of her nieces or nephews where most of the family still gathers to celebrate.
