 A little girl’s memory of a very specialHatteras Christmas By MARY ELIZABETH GRAY
What
excitement! Grandfather announced that the Christmas Candy
Drummer would come that day. There were very few visitors on
Hatteras Island because travel was so difficult. There was a
ferry which was the only way to get to the island, and there were no
paved roads. Usually people who had business came on the mail
truck. They had to spend the night with a family on the
island. The Christmas Candy Drummer would be staying with Grandmother and Grandfather. Grandfather said the Christmas Candy Drummer’s name was Peleg Midgette from Weatherly’s Candy Co. I immediately pictured a man with a wooden leg like Long John Silver in "Treasure Island." Every year the Methodist church passed out a bag of candy and fruit to each person in the village. This was done on Christmas Eve at a celebration at the church. There would be a huge tree decorated with tinsel and colored balls and the dolls the girls would receive for Christmas. When the Christmas Candy Drummer showed up, he didn’t have a wooden leg, not even a slight limp. There was none of the heartiness of Long John Silver, but he had a kind manner and smile for the little girl. When he opened the black bag he was carrying, there were no pieces of eight but a kaleidoscope of colors of candies. There was such an assortment — red and green striped peppermints, orange and pink peach blossoms, white square coconut candy, and, best of all, huge chocolate drops you could lick for hours, savoring the taste of the bitter chocolate and sweet, sugary fondant. Candy was in short supply on the island, and this seemed to be a treasure trove. Grandfather checked over each flavor of candy, figured the cost, and put in the order for the church. Grandfather also ordered apples, oranges, and nuts to be included in the bag. I sat on the wood box next to the small iron stove that heated the living room and watched intently. Wonder of wonders, the Christmas Candy Drummer chose a handful of the candies and presented them to me. Even though Grandmother would carefully ration them, it seemed that Christmas had come early. All the children on the island were anticipating Christmas. It meant a respite from school, presents to look forward to, and the bag of goodies that were a sure thing even if the presents didn’t materialize. Mother had already had a talk with me, telling me that I was now too old for dolls and would be getting clothes for Christmas instead of toys. I really needed a new warm coat since my current one was too small and my arms hung out from the sleeves. I accepted Mother’s statement, recognizing that this was to be, but in my heart, I longed for a doll to replace the one my brothers had cut apart to see how the eyes worked and the crying mechanism was installed. The candy had arrived! Mr. Eph had sent word to Grandfather that it was at his store. After closing time, people would gather to pack the bags. "Can I go with you, Grandfather?" I begged. "Well, if you are quiet and behave yourself," he replied. "You know I always say..." "Yes, I know. ‘Children should be seen and not heard.’ Oh, I will be very good." That night Grandfather gathered up his lantern and Grandmother put so many sweaters on me that I could hardly breathe. "I won’t be cold," I told her. "Now mind, don’t get in the way, and don’t get up to any mischief," warned Grandmother. The night was dark and cold, and my feet slipped in the sand as I tried to keep up with Grandfather and the small light from the oil lantern. It was a moonless night, and the stars seemed far away. The yaupon and myrtle bushes rustled and seemed to reach out in the dark. The cold north wind created mysterious noises and tried to penetrate all the clothes I was wearing. There was a small crowd at the store when we arrived. Mr. Eph had a Delco generator that he operated to provide lights and a cold storage room where he kept a few meats and other perishable items. There were several young girls and boys there, as well as Mr. Eph and Uncle Charlie. This was a gathering for courtship as well as work. The only acceptable social occasions were church and the occasional birthday party. The girls were giggling and flirting with the boys. This was a social gathering for them. Uncle Charlie organized everyone into a line. One person opened the brown paper bag, one weighed the candy, one put in an orange, one an apple, and another counted a few nuts and put them in. Uncle Charlie counted the bags as he put them into large cardboard boxes. Mostly the girls did the work, while the boys stood around poking at the girls and making them giggle. Uncle Charlie was a great storyteller and made a party out of the gathering. He told ghost stories as if they had happened to him personally and with such sincerity that I was afraid to go out into the dark even with Grandfather. The favorite was the story of Uncle Charlie and the lady on the white horse. Uncle Charlie was returning from an unspecified visit on a dark, dark night and when he was riding through the dense Trent Woods, he suddenly saw a lady on a white horse riding noiselessly beside him. He asked her who she was, but she gave no answer. He struck his horse and urged it on, but the lady kept pace with him. He raced his horse as fast as it would go, but it was not until he was out of the Trent Woods that the lady on the white horse no longer rode beside him. When the bags had all been filled and the group had all slipped away by twos, there was just Grandfather and Uncle Charlie left to go home. They walked on ahead with the light, talking about the Christmas Eve service. The dark night was even darker without a moon, and the wind had picked up and moaned through the yaupon bushes that crowded the sandy road. "Uncle Charlie, did you really meet the lady on the white horse?" I asked. "Sure I did, child. The moon was shining through her, and she kept up with every step my horse made. I wouldn’t look at her face, though. That would have been my death. I rode my horse as fast as it would go until we were out of the woods. Horse was dead next morning though. Guess he faced the white horse." Grandfather just laughed. "I know what you were running from, Charlie," he said. They both laughed all the way home. Christmas Eve was here at last! The younger children were all gathered at the church for one last practice for the Christmas program. One part of the program consisted of a row of children spelling the word "Christmas." Each child had a letter with a verse. Needless, to say, the two Barnett cousins were in the middle of the row, and Elton would always forget his verse and Eldon would get the giggles and start the whole row to giggling. At least, they would provide entertainment for the crowd of parents and families that would be at the church. There was excitement at the door as several men came in with the Christmas tree. It was a huge holly, almost reaching to the ceiling of the church. We hunted out the box of tinsel and ornaments to go on the tree. The huge gold rope was crushed and tarnished but it would look good draped over the tree with lamplight shining on it. The tree was hung with the shiny balls and tinsel, but the men waited until the children left before hanging the dolls on the tree. The dolls were Christmas presents from the families and were hung on the tree. They would be taken from the tree one by one and given to the girl who was to receive it. When we got to the church that night, it looked like a fairyland. The oil lamps were lit all around the walls of the church, and the tree was laden with golden balls, tinsel rope, and dolls nestled in the branches of the holly. I hated to look at the tree because there would not be a doll for me. My best friend said: "I’m getting a Shirley Temple doll. What does yours look like?" I swallowed and said, "Dolls aren’t fun anymore. I’m not getting a doll. I’m getting a new coat with a reversible lining." She gave me a look and charged up to the tree to check out the dolls that were hanging. She nodded her head very confidently when she found a Shirley Temple doll and began to check the tags on the other dolls. I whispered in her ear: "You aren’t supposed to peek at the tags." "Well, guess what, Mary? There is one with your name on it. Don’t you want to know which one it is?" "I told you. I am not getting a doll this year. I really don’t want one." She only smiled rather smugly. After the children had presented their program, Uncle Charlie walked up to the boxes of candy bags and began calling the names of each person in the community by family. Everyone received a bag of candy, and there were bags for people who were unable to come to the service. Church members would deliver them on Christmas Day. Then some of the men began to remove the dolls from the tree and would hand them to Uncle Charlie and he would call out the name on the tag. I looked on as my friend got the Shirley Temple doll and tried to swallow the hard lump in my throat. Then Uncle Charlie called my name. He was holding a small doll dressed in white. It was Emilie, one of the Dionne quintuplets. When I looked at the tag, it sure enough had my name and then Grandmother’s name. Grandmother had been saving Octagon soap coupons and Sweet snuff coupons for a long time to turn in for a new set of dishes, but somehow she understood a child’s heart and decided a doll at Christmas was more important than plates that matched. |
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