This blustery cold weather and with Christmas just around the corner brings to mind the
most memorable Christmas of my youth. It was just after WWII, my Uncle Ernie was back from
the service. He and Aunt Dixie came to live with Pop and I. They converted our adobe
garage into a small living room and bedroom. Pop and I shared half of the only other
structure (outhouse not counted). This building was also adobe and had been originally
constructed as chicken pens. It had a shed roof and the floor was about two feet below
ground level. Our room was 7'-0" x 9'-0" and contained a bunk bed, low dresser
and closet. The other half of this building was the same dimensions and served as our
communal kitchen.
With the war over, Pop no longer worked for the Army Air Corps at Daggett. They no longer
called it the air base, but renamed it the Daggett Annex. I didn't realize it then, but
times were tough. Pop and Uncle Ernie were hiring out for whatever work they could get
around Newberry. Usually this was building or repairing chicken pens, cleaning chicken
pens, butchering beef, mending fences, etc. Aunt Dix did the budgeting, shopping, washing,
cleaning, cooking and milking. I had my chores before school of collecting eggs, feeding
the stock, etc. After school and on week ends Aunt Dix and I usually worked on one of her
ongoing projects. These projects varied constantly with her whim. Sometimes we would go
out in the desert and cut squaw tea then chop it and spread it to dry in the sun. Another
project was making cottage cheese. None of these projects seemed to be suitable this day,
given the fact that Christmas was just around the corner. How were we going get into the
Christmas spirit way out here. We couldn't string lights, the wind would blow them out. We
had no decorations and no money to buy any. Aunt Dix said "sure we can have
decorations, we just have to make our own".
Aunt Dix said she thought we could do it all with just a few tools, some paint and fine
wire. We had the tools and many cans of assorted paint in various degrees of hardness but
the only wire we had was bailing wire. This problem was solved when we discovered a
discarded electric motor at the dump. After taking it apart and putting it in a big
bonfire for an while, we could just unwind wire as we needed it.
The project began with collecting screw beans that had fallen from our mesquite trees and
scouring the desert for wild thistle pods. We tied wires to the stems of the beans and
pods, dipped them in silver, gold, red and green paint. Before they dried we stuck on
small bits of tin foil and anything else that sparkled. We finished them off with a small
red ribbon bow around the stem.
We went over to the Newberry mountains and picked desert holly. Using wet tamarack twigs,
we made forms, then wired on the holly. The result was a fine wreath for the door to the
kitchen and another for the wall.
The Christmas tree was the grand finale. Our materials consisted of a broom stick, some
Arizona cypress limbs of various sizes and copper wire. Starting at the bottom we drilled
holes on a slant in the broom stick, whittled the base of the limbs to fit, stuck them in
the holes and wired them in place.
On Christmas eve, we decorated our tree with all of our brightly colored screw bean and
thistle ornaments, then hung the boughs with strips of shredded tin foil and popcorn
garlands.
That year my Aunt Dix and Uncle Ernie gave me a box of Tinker toys. My Mom and Pop gave me
a plastic wind up ukelele. But the greatest gift of all was a lesson learned. Make the
most of whatever the situation is and you can't go wrong.
It has been many years since that Christmas. It never fails, each year I recall that
memorable Newberry Christmas.
Copyright 1995, William E. Smith, All Rights Reserved
Newberry Springs Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 116
Newberry Springs, CA 92365
Phone: (760) 257-1072
