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Show O-- HF p-m- - FROM WHERE I SIT By Allan R. Gibson T 1987 Christmas Lighting Contest Winners! A Congratulations to all the winners in the From Where I Sit First Annual Chirstmas Lighting Contest. The judges have judged and the winners are, ta da! First place went to David Stephenson, son of Jim and Jamice Stephenson. David has really created a Winter Wonder Land at 176 West 600 North, "Way to go David. Second place went to Ted Jones at 15 West 600 South. As usual Ted and Donna have done a super job at their home. The judges decided to award a tie for third place. The winners are Loren Callaway at 877 North Main and Pat Greenwood at 510 North 100 East. Each were equally outstanding. Lets all give a big Way to go to Ted, Loren, and Pat. The judges also awarded Honorable mentions to Ken Lofgran, Leon Pexton, Ron Anderson, Shannon White, Blair Painter, Terry Kendall, Barbara Painter and Charlie Castellano. The choice was hard, each entry was great. The first, second and third places will receive a years subscription to The Times-New- s and a $10.00 credit of their Electric bills from the Force on Nephi. Thanks to all of you that entered Task Mayors and thanks to all of you who made Nephi, Mona and Levan a brighter place this Christmas season. Lets all start planning now for next year. 1ST !Place Wl?- - ns-- Monday was the shortest day of the year and Im ready for more sunlight than I have seen lately. To bad we cant really have Daylight savings time and do away with Winter. Work on that, will you? What are your memories of Christmas. For those of us born before television, the memories may be somewhat different. As I listened to Prairie Home Companion the other night, the Christmases of my youth came flooding back. Im sure as a small child, I received all the gifts boys do. The wagons, bicycles, train sets, candy and clothes. Roy and Zoe were good to us kids. We never suffered, but I really dont remember any certain present. I remember our tree was always decorated to the hilt, though it was usually one of the thin branched trees that mother preferred. She always said it was easier to decorate. It always had lots of icicles and a cotton tree skirt around the base that looked like snow. She always put a Christmas village under the tree. Inside each building you could see lights and the roofs were sprayed with the sparkling stuff that made them look like it had just snowed. From the kitchen, there was always the good smells of Christmas. Christmas dinner was a great feast. Mother always spent long hours in the kitchen getting ready for the big day. Roy, on the other hand, spent long hours at The Times-New- s getting out the always large issue that the season brought. One or two days before the holiday, hed take me to Garbetts or J.C. Pennys to buy Mom her present. A new pair of stockings, a new scarf, these were the presents I ususally selected. Going into Garbetts was scary for us Kids. It was a ladies store and the manikins wore the styish ladies underclothes of the day. Not a place that we boys went. On top of that, Cigar Butt Garbett smoked cigars and always had one lit. For we, that were raised in a smoke free Mormon home, the smell was strange and forbidding. Im sure that Mr. Garbett was a very nice man but anyone that doesnt fit the mold was scary. Tolerance for others sins in not the mark of youth. 'The thing that I remember most about Christmas eve, and one of the things I miss about the Good Old Days,. is laying on the couch and listening to the radio. For you kids, that were born after 1950 or so, radio is what we had before there was television. I know that radio is still around but the radio of Power 99 or K96 isnt the same thing. Prairie Home Companion on KUER on Saturday nights is the closest Ive heard in a. long time, to the radio I remember at Christmas. This was the radio of Our Miss Brooks, The Green Hornet, Jack Benny, and The Lone Ranger, to mind back those Christmases As others. goes my many, many of my youth, I remember that the radio programs played the songs of Christmas and on Christmas Eve they interupted the programs to give you a idea where Santa was. And just when Santa was close, according to the radio, you were sent off to bed before you good get a look at the jolly old elf. The long hours before the morn really dragged. I usually couldnt stand to stay in bed after 5 a.m., but most often we kids were sent back to bed for another hour. I think dad sent us back to make the suspense greater. Maybe just for another hour of sleep for himself. It was torture. The radio always was turned on as we opened our presents, the sweet sounds of Jingle Bells and White Christmas in the backgound. Television is great, but radio was where it was at. in my youth. Its a shame that the children of today dont have the privilege of the theater of the mind that radio was. Charlie McCarthy is still a real person in my mind and Jack Benny really had a vault in his basement for all his money. I know its true, I saw it in my mind one Christmas Eve long ago. ar- g- David Stephenson, 175 West 600 North 2ND IPlac Ted Jones, 15 West 600 South 3PD Place Loren Callaway, 744 North Main |