‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there….
A Visit From St. Nicholas, penned by Clement C. Moore reflects the hopes of many children on Christmas Eve. Julia Ellett Lewis lived in The Rosenkrans House, which is now The Rosenkrans Museum, from 1912 until 1922. Her recollections as recorded by Robert L. Williams in the February, 1991 newsletter entitled The Walpack News are as follows:
During Christmas time, Dad went out in one of the fields and cut down our Christmas tree which was placed in the front corner of the parlor. I can remember yet the way the tree was decorated. We had to color the paper ourselves, couldn’t get colored paper back then, and made paper ring chains. We had Christmas tree balls but I don’t recall that we had candles on the tree as some people did. We always got an orange for Christmas, a game, crayons and a crayon book. We may have gotten some piece of clothing. I remember one year I got a pair of high buttoned shoes with suede tops. I thought they were the greatest thing.
Building on our April 2017 Newsletter’s request for members and readers to recall what was for breakfast, lunch and supper on a normal day in Walpack, we would love to hear your Walpack Holiday Memories. Please feel free to post a comment or write directly to The Walpack Historical Society, P.O. Box 212, Layton, NJ 07851.
Happy Holidays from The Walpack Historical Society!
