Let's Talk Wyoming - Christmas Kindness, Nostalgic Tales, and Wyoming's Festive Spirit

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:18):
Good morning and welcome to let's Talk Wyoming.
I'm Mark Hamilton, your host,and today we'll be taking a look
at our weather.
Maybe we won't have a whiteChristmas compared to what we
had last year.
We'll take a look at someChristmas stories from the past.
We'll reminisce about Christmas.
We'll talk about the Christmasstory.
We're going to do a lot ofChristmas today and today's show

(00:40):
is actually part of an encorefrom our Christmas show last
year.
We hope you enjoy it.
We want to make sure we wisheveryone a Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year.
Taking a look at Wyoming weatherwe definitely aren't having a

(01:05):
Wyoming usual weather this timeof year.
It's been pretty mild.
Some spots and mountains and acouple spots in the western part
of the state have been gettinga little bit of snow, but here
in the Bighorn Basin there'sbeen none at all.
Bighorns have a little bit, butnot much, and Boysen Reservoir
is really low right now.

(01:25):
A lot of people have someconcern with our weather and our
lack of snow, but we've got alot of months ahead of us, but
the weather patterns don't lookfavorable for much in the way of
winter here in Wyoming.
Today we're going to turn toReader's Digest, always my
favorite source for stories, andthese are four different

(01:50):
stories talking aboutChristmastime.
Our first story is the PostmanLifted Us Up from Depression.
My parents, at the height ofthe Depression, were forced to
go on home relief, which isknown today as welfare.
It was 1935 when I was 10 yearsold and we lived on the first
floor of a walk-up apartment on43rd Street in Brooklyn, new

(02:13):
York.
A few days before Christmas, Ilooked out a kitchen window to
see my father sitting on thestoop, dejected and depressed,
with tears in his eyes.
The mailman was approaching ourbuilding and asked my father
what was wrong.
I heard my father say that hehad used up his food vouchers
and that the rent was past due.
He had tried to work as alaborer through the Works

(02:37):
Progress Administration, but hewasn't a very strong man and the
work had been too hard for him.
I was scared, having seennewspaper pictures of people
being put out on the streetswith all their belongings.
Ike, how much do you need?
The mailman asked.
My dad said he needed $33 forrent and without hesitation, the

(02:57):
mailman took $50 from hiswallet and handed it to my
father.
My dad said I don't know whator when I'll be able to pay this
back.
The mailman put an arm aroundmy father and said it'd be okay
if he paid him back or he didn'tpay him back.
The mailman noticed me lookingthrough the window and said
Isaac, things will not be thisway forever.

(03:19):
If you or your son willremember this day, there will be
times in the future whensomeone else may need help.
Help them within your means andtell them what happened this
day.
This will be my Merry Christmas.
This will be my payback.
Merry Christmas and HappyHanukkah.
As long as he lived and myfather helped others when he

(03:40):
could, I have done my best to domy part in paying his
generosity back.
He fixed my car on my ChristmasIn 1958, I was a first-year
high school teacher in Beatty,nevada.
On December 22nd I headed hometo Idaho in my 1951 Hudson to

(04:01):
spend Christmas with my parentsJust south of Fillmore.
1951 Hudson to spend Christmaswith my parents Just south of
Fillmore, utah.
A radar haze broke and the carstarted to overheat.
I hitchhiked into Fillmore andgot a ride to a Chevron station.
I explained my plight to theowner, dan Brinkerhoff, who sent
a tow truck to bring in my car.
Dan discovered that the enginehad become so hot it had warped

(04:22):
the head.
So I called to a nearbywrecking yard and found the
needed part.
I boarded a Greyhound bus,bought the part and then caught
a return bus to Fillmore.
By that time it was dark andDan had closed the station.
He immediately went to work onmy car, laboring for several
hours while I slept curled up inthe back seat.
Finally he woke me up andannounced I was ready to go.

(04:45):
When I went to settle up, hewouldn't take a dime for
anything he had done.
I got to spend the holidayswith my parents and I still
shall forever remember Dan forthe wonderful thing he did for
me.
I joined the Army on December15th of 1959.
When I was 17,.
Five days later I had thechoice of going home for

(05:07):
Christmas or staying at FortCarson, colorado, and pulling
capoe duty for 15 days.
A fellow recruit and I wantedto go home, but he didn't have
enough money for bus fare, so wedecided to hitchhike some 1100
miles to San Antonio, texas.
From there we could get bustickets home.
He was going to Navarro Laredo,mexico, and I was going to

(05:30):
Uranus Pass, texas.
That first day we got as far asTrinidad, colorado, where we
spent the night drinking coffeein a small cafe.
The next day and night we wentall the way to Amarillo, texas,
in a semi-tractor rig.
From there we had to walkacross town to where we could
hitchhike.
It was late afternoon and wewere getting hungrier and colder

(05:51):
.
On top of that, it had startedto snow.
Our chances of getting a rideout of town were getting mighty
slim.
Then our saving angel came by ina VW Bug, offering us a ride
all the way to San Antonio.
In the Bug were the youngdriver, his wife, an infant, a
toddler and a big, shaggy dog.
The back seat had been removedto accommodate a sort of bed,

(06:14):
with the dad and two tired, cold, hungry young soldiers in the
front seat.
We were going home forChristmas.
This family went out of theirway to help us, buying us dinner
and breakfast.
They not only took us to thebus station, they even paid for
our tickets.
I will forever remember thosepeople and their kindness.
May God bless them.

(06:37):
And finally, our community camethrough.
In December of 1963, my fathergathered my two younger sisters
and me together and told us hecouldn't afford to give us any
presents that year, not even ourtraditional treats of nuts,
apples, oranges, tangerines andchocolates.
My mother had had a stroke theyear before and was constantly
going to the hospital, so therewas no money for Christmas.

(06:59):
On Christmas Eve we heard aknock on the door.
Two ladies came in and gave usnew coats along with some
holiday treats.
Our neighbors across the streethad told her church our
situation and the people ofcongregation wanted to help.
I will never forget our kindneighbor.
Here's four stories reflectingthe heart of people and how

(07:23):
willing they are to help thosein need, something that we need
to continue carrying on in ourfuture years.
Christmas has always been aspecial time for me in my life.
I can remember as a youngster Iwas the youngest of three and

(07:44):
we would go up every year toGrass Creek, which was outside
of Worland, over near Matitsiand in that country up in the
mountains mountainous area.
There were a lot of beautifulChristmas trees there and we
would go up and cut trees and wealways had just a gorgeous
Christmas tree every year.
I can remember those distinctlyand just that fun of going up

(08:05):
and cutting the tree.
It seemed like there was alwayssnow on the ground and it was
quite an adventure to get overthere and get back and get the
tree up well decorated and justthat lead up to Christmas.
I can remember in grade schooland those years that we always
had our music performances andit was really a festive time.
Everybody really was lookforward to Christmas and we had

(08:28):
a long Christmas vacation.
As you got older that youreally enjoyed that Christmas
vacation and I can rememberwaiting and wondering what Santa
was going to bring that year.
And I guess that when you get alittle bit older that Santa
doesn't bring you presents, thatthat's only for the younger
kids, and so that was always alittle bit of a disappointment.

(08:50):
But our Christmases were just agrand time.
We always had a festive mealand I was for some reason.
I can remember as a youngsterthat I guess I wanted to be a
minister.
After we'd went to church thatnight we'd always go to the
candlelight service.
At that time you could burnyour candle.
You didn't have to put it outlike you have to.

(09:10):
At that time you could burnyour candle.
You didn't have to put it outlike you have to.
So we would light the candleand it was always a competition
to get that lit candle home allthe way from church to the house
and that was always rather anadventure to see if I could beat
my sister and get that candlelit candle back to the house and
we always had hot chocolate andcookies and different things
and it was always that time ofyear that you just wanted to be

(09:33):
thankful for everything that youhad.
And as you got older, when youstarted having your own family,
it was always fun for your kidsto be able to put stuff out for
them for Santa Claus and have toworry about the night before of
putting stuff together.
And of course I had girls andthey had a lot of different
dollhouses and different thingsthat were really hard to put

(09:53):
together.
It took quite a while to geteverything together.
Of course you have to hide allthis stuff, but those were.
That's what Christmas wasremembrance of Christmas, of how
special those times are, and Ihope that everyone on the
podcast that celebratesChristmas that they have the
same memories, that they cancontinue on with those memories
or maybe start some new memorieswith your families at this

(10:15):
special time of year, the daythat baby Jesus was born, christ
came into this world, and it isdefinitely a joyous season for
myself and my family.
Christmas, christmas of thepast we'll never forget.
And reading from Matthew.
I wanted to share this, andthis is from Matthew 18,.
And this is the birth of JesusChrist.

(10:36):
This is how the birth of JesusChrist came about.
His mother, mary, was pledgedto be married to Joseph, but
before they came together, shewas found to be with child
through the Holy Spirit.
Because Joseph, her husband,was a righteous man and did not
want to expose her to publicdisgrace, he had in mind to
divorce her quietly.
But after he had consideredthis, an angel of the Lord

(10:58):
appeared to him in a dream andsaid Joseph, son of David, do
not be afraid to take Mary homeas your wife, because what she
has conceived in her is from theHoly Spirit.
She will give birth to a sonand you are to give him the name
Jesus, because he will save hispeople from their sins.
All this took place to fulfillwhat the Lord had said to the

(11:19):
prophet.
The virgin will be with childand will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Emmanuel,which means God with us.
When Joseph woke up, he didwhat the angel of the Lord had
commanded him and took Mary homeas his wife, but he had no
union with her until she gavebirth to a son and he gave him
the name Jesus.

(11:39):
And there were shepherds livingin the fields in the vine
keeping watch over their flocksat night and the angel of the
Lord appeared to them and theglory of the Lord shone around
them and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them Donot be afraid.
I bring you good news of greatjoy that will be for all the
people.
Today, in the town of David, aSavior has been born to you.

(12:00):
He is Christ the Lord.
This will be a sign to you.
You will find a baby wrapped inclothes and lying in a manger.
Suddenly, a great company ofheavenly hosts appeared to the
angels, praising God and sayingGlory to God in the highest and
on earth, peace to men on whomhis favor rests.
When the angels had left themand gone into heaven, the

(12:21):
shepherds said to one anotherlet's go to Bethlehem and see
this thing that has happened,which the Lord has told us about
.
So they hurried off and foundMary and Joseph and the baby who
was lying in a manger.
When they had seen him, theyspread the word concerning what
they had been told about them,about this child and all heard
it, were amazed at what theshepherds said to them.

(12:42):
But Mary treasured up all thosethings and pondered them in
their heart.
The shepherds returnedglorifying and praising God for
all the things they had heardand seen, as they are sure they
have been told.
And finally, today in ourhistory section, taking a look

(13:11):
at an article fromwildhistoryorg Wyoming Christmas
Territorial Style, by PhilRoberts.
Christmas was celebrated interritorial Wyoming much like it
is today, with family dinners,parties, church services and
school programs.
Festive occasions were reportedin the newspapers of the time
and press accounts revealed someof the interesting ones.

(13:31):
In Cheyenne in 1877, the ladiesof the African Methodist Church
cooked a Christmas dinner forchurch members and friends.
About 250 presents hung uponthe tree.
The newspaper item reported thePresbyterian Sabbath School in
Cheyenne elected new officersfor the coming year.
In Cheyenne elected newofficers for the coming year.
According to the same 1877Cheyenne newspaper, the elected

(14:00):
secretary-treasurer wasphotographer-banker DD Dare, who
several years later fled to theNear East after two banks in
which he had an interest failed.
The Evanston newspapermentioned a Christmas present
given to the local judge.
It was a magnificent gold cane,the judge told the Evanston
editor.
It's hard to tell just how MerryChristmas was at the Fort
Laramie in 1877.
One writer in a letter to theeditor wrote Good old Christmas

(14:23):
was fiddly celebrated in FortLaramie.
Every window in the post wasbrilliantly illuminated with a
dozen candles each.
The quarters were decoratedwith evergreen, wine flowed
freely and many a hearty toastwas drunk to the happiness of
old friends.
A second letter several wereseen, the only being in the band
quarters.
The tree was nine inches highwhen placed on a bunk and was

(15:01):
decorated by an old cigar stump.
Our would-be correspondent doesnot for an instant speak of the
quality of the wine whichflowed so freely.
I have not least doubt thatsome of that wine is flowing.
Yet there was less debate on thefestivities at Laramie that
year.
The Wainless Hose Company,apparently a firefighting
brigade, sponsored a grand ballat a hotel Christmas night.

(15:24):
Near present-day Newcastleprospectors celebrated Christmas
with the news of an oil strikeclose to Jenny's stockade.
In 1879, a newspaper reportedfestivities near Lander.
The 5th Calvary held a grandmilitary ball on Christmas Eve.
The report later added thatLander was well represented by
the fair.

(15:44):
On Christmas Day 1878, a hugeChristmas tree decorated with
glittering tinsels andgolden-winged images highlighted
the program at Fort Washakie,the Indian agency near Lander.
Presents were handed out bySanta Claus, who sprang out in
his suit of fur and robes Afterthe gifts were presented, all
assembled again and listened tothe reading of the sermon by the

(16:05):
agent.
The Christmas tree at Landerwas not the first one raised in
Wyoming.
Nineteen years earlier, in 1858, missionaries at Deer Creek
present-day Glenrock choppeddown a spruce tree in the nearby
hills and decorated it.
That evening they entertainedmembers of Captain WF Reynolds'
topographical expedition andIndians with violin music, bible

(16:28):
readings and German Christmascarols.
The Christmas tree was astandard part of celebrations in
the 1870s.
Residents of Rock Springs held aChristmas party at their
one-room schoolhouse in 1878.
The Christmas tree was decoratedwith cranberries and popcorn
strung by the schoolchildren.
According to one account, giftswere distributed Occasionally.

(16:48):
Some old, hardened sinnercrouching in a seat at the rear
of the building would bestartled and surprised when
Santa Claus called him by hisname, announced in ringing tones
a gift for that man.
When the child acting asSanta's messengers carried the
prize to him, his old eyes wouldmoisten and often tears were
trickled down his cheek.
The knowledge that someonecared for him enough to manifest

(17:09):
it with a token of remembranceaffected him and in the 21st
century, children of all ages inWyoming still look forward to
Santa's visit Anotheroutstanding story from
wildhistoryorg and it's amazinglooking back through the years,
we were talking about theChristmas and the Christmas
celebrations and the Christmastrees, and we still carry that

(17:30):
on here to 2022.
And we'd like to take thisopportunity for all of our
listeners for let's Talk Wyoming.
Wherever you are here in the USor across the world, we want to
wish you all a Merry Christmasand a prosperous New Year.

Speaker 2 (17:55):
Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is
bright Round yon.
Virgin Mother and child, holyinfant, so tender and mild.

(18:23):
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Sleep in heavenly peace, silentnight, holy night.

(18:50):
Shepherds quake at the sight,glory streams from heaven above
Heavenly hosts sing alleluia.

(19:12):
Christ the Savior is born.
Christ the Savior is born.
Christ.
On that day that you were born,they said you were the Son of

(19:34):
God.
And the wise men came and saidit too, that, oh my God, the
story is true, that you camehere to set us free From all the
pain and misery.
You made the moon and the starsabove and you sealed it all

(19:55):
With your precious blood.
I just want to thank you, jesus.
I just want to thank you, lord.
Send us your radiant light Allthis time and night.
All this time and night.
All this time and night, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

(20:20):
, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
Mother and child.
Mother and child In the salt ofthe night, in the salt of the
night, mother and child In thesalt of the night, in the salt

(20:44):
of the night, in the salt of thenight, in the salt of the night
, in the salt of the night, inthe salt of the night, in the
salt of the night, in the saltof the night, in the salt of the
night.
Hey, stephen Catherby, stephenCatherby, hey.

Speaker 1 (21:12):
Thanks for joining us today and we hope you enjoy our
podcast.
As per the Code of the West, weride for the brand and we ride
for Wyoming.
We'll be right back, go go weare the Giants.

Speaker 2 (21:59):
Go, go, go.
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Bf-watch TV 2021.