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Show Thursday, December The Old Settler .... Best Christmas Wishes December 1880 My First Christmas by Albert Christmas has done something to me. It has been doing something to me once a year for seventy-seve- n years. I have kept a daily record since the summer of 1880, and in those volumes I turn to the account Christmas days. I seem to have cf sixty-fou- r had chronic Christmasitis, living hopefully from one Christmas to another. Christmas was the annual high point with just low valleys in twenty-seve- 7'eaisini,s Wood's Department Store Monticello, Utah WD TIDINGS h snow-covere- friends a bright and we came out of the cedars into the south- On Christmas day, 1880, we labored on through the snow and the cedars to the southeast, intent on reaching Bluff before more snow fell. My father had helped to begin Bluff in the spring of that year, but the rest of the family had been left in Fillmore for me to be bom, and he had gone back to bring us when 1 was rugged enough to meet the rigors of the wild San Juan. We camped that night somewhere on Snout Platt. Although I have no recollection of it, 1 can envisage it perfectly, having gone over that road with teams and covered wagons a few years later, and been there many times since. That was my first Christmas, of which I have preserved but a hearsay account. One of these days, possibly in 1938, I am going to write the account of my last Christmas, in which I hope to enjoy the pleasant echo of all the other Christmases since 1880, echoes which seem to come from some better world, and to foreshadow some glorious occasion to which every one of these have been pointing. five-year-o- Wishing our many In the early twilight of that Christmas eve first twelve of them that came and went before I began my diary. I was able to dig some of them out of my own memory and the memory and writings of others Some of them 1 have not been able to get. But I have got the first one; not as it appealed to me, for 1 was not then able to understand, being then very snudl, and nesting most of the time in my mother's arms. I found somewhat of an account of it in my father's journal, but better still, he told me about it, and pointwhich stood ed out one important till three years ago when a big bulldozer push-i- t off the map. On the of December, 1880, we with our were camped pony teams and our covered wagons, somewhere in the Cow Tank Country on our way to Bluff, my father and sister and I. I was mother, my not yet a yearling. We toiled that day through road across Dripping the rough, Gulch on and through the forest of Spring cedars towards the foot of Elk Mountain with the snow getting ever deeper as we climbed. twenty-fourt- Sv" iron-tire- d holiday. As the years passed and I looked back over my precious Christmases, trying to revive the cheer, each one of them had brought. 1 became unpleasantly aware that the wonderous panorama was lacking any wordy picture of the 1 land-mar- k tf Our teams were tugging and sweating as the old wheels ground through the crusted snow. west corner of Grand Platt, and stopped neat a little clump of trees near the road. My father went out there through ten inches of snow, and shoveled out a clear place for a fire which he kindled, and they carried us little folks into its warmth. It was eleven years later that My father showed me the little grove as we passed there with our pack butfit, and in all the years thereafter it was a kind of sacred place till modern treasure hunters with their roads and their engines of destruction wiped it off the was always looking forth with eager anticipation, expecting to surrender willingly to the transforming influence of the big 1 R. Lyman n between. CBacecetlfinngs V PAGE TWO THE SAN JUAN RECORD 26, 1957 d HELEN RAYS Blanding, Utah earth- - shining Christmas season. PASO SERVICE PEARSON GAS & APPLIANCE EL Monticello, Utah Carefully selected toys will give children many happy hours of safer, constructive play. Poorly chosen toys, on the other hand, will collect dust on the shelf or need repairing a few days after Christmas. Many winding and friction-drivtoys are limited in their use and are not recommended for children. On the other hand, blocks, logs and other such toys will help develop a childs creativity. If you choose a doll as a gift, be sure it is durable. Check the arms to see that they will bend easily. Also see that the fingers are not spread out so that it is difficult to dress the doll. Make Clothes Simple Doll clothes should be attractive, yet made so the child can manage them herself. They should open down either the front or the back and fasten with snaps, large buttons or ties. The construction and material used in toys Is also Important Since hard plastics break easily, soft plastics, metal and wood are better for toys. Inspect metal toys carefully to be sure there are no sharp edges. wwewk A A & W CAFE THE SAN JUAN RECORD Published every Thursday at Monticello, Utah. Entered at the Post Office at Monticello, Utah, as second class matter under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. Safe, Durable Toys Best for Youngsters NORMAN and CONNIE NIELSON Blanding, Utah e KW$ S IV 4: i t7 m V Vr ANlr av:4 -x Tr Blinding Aline Supply Blending, Utah i rttss vo. v Poinsettias bright ? ' will help us say . . . Best wishes for your holiday! THE LOOK SHOP ., to all our friends for a gay, colorful Christmas season. L. W. GRAVES JEWELER Blending, Utah PAY DAY Rexall DRUG CO. BLANDING, UTAH |