It was hard times back when I was a child, and when Christmas came, people enjoyed it. They really loved to see Christmas come. I’d get a new pair of shoes every Christmas, and I’d sleep with’em on the first night. Since we didn’t get but one pair a year, they had to do us. We could tear’em up if we wanted to, but if we did, we went barefooted. If we took care of’em, they lasted us all winter. When the first day of May came, I was tickled because Mama’d let us go barefooted.”
—Nola Campbell, A Foxfire Christmas
I certainly had more than one pair of shoes when I was growing up, but I would only get one pair of new tennis shoes for school each year. And like Nola I was so proud of them I about slept with them too. I tried to keep them extra clean and only wore them to school. Once I was home I put on an old pair of shoes to play outside. Every once in a while I’d carefully clean the white parts with an old toothbrush.
Pap told me when he was in high school he had to milk the cow before he went to school. He only had one pair of shoes and didn’t want to get them dirty before school so he’d milk barefooted. One morning the cow stepped on his foot. Although it hurt, he cleaned up put his shoes on and went on to school.
He said by the end of the day his foot was so swollen he could barely get his shoe off of his foot.
The first line from Nola reminds me of Granny’s family. The Jenkins seemed to enjoy Christmas more than any people I’ve ever seen. It wasn’t the presents nor the decorations, it was the joy of having family together that made them all smile from ear to ear during the special time of year.
Last night’s video: Easy Candy Making & Nana’s Ham Ball for Christmas.
Subscribe for FREE and get a daily dose of Appalachia in your inbox
About 40 years ago our daughter wanted an expensive pair of tennis shoes. The ones she wanted were about $130. She was growing so fast we bought shoes at least one size too big for her so they would last three months before she outgrew them. I told her when she stopped growing I might consider them or she could get a job and buy them herself. I wore Dad’s older shoes for farm work and changed to mine for school. In high school I had regular shoes for most of the day and tennis shoes for PE. They probably cost less than $5. My regular shoes were $6.
I’m just beginning to get caught up with your posts. I was away for the weekend – five days – for a family get-together and didn’t have access to the internet. It was 13 degrees on the Skyway Monday morning about 10 AM as we returned home. Your post on Sunday about the song Noel reminded me of a joke my wife tells sometimes. A drunk wandered into a church and wanted to sing. He was handed a song book and sang, “Leon, Leon.” big and loud. Someone turned the book around for him and he said, “Oh”, and sang “Noel, Noel.”
Hard times make strong people….good people!
Papaw would sell ‘baccer’ at the end of the year and Momma said all the kids got a new pair of broghans. The only pair of shoes for the year. They wouldn’t last all winter because it was rocky. The soles would tear loose and they would tie rags around the shoes to hold them together. She said their feet would get cold because the snow would get into the shoe where it wasn’t tight.
In honor of Mommy’s raising, I’m giving all 13 of our kids and grandkids a chocolate drop. I will tell the stories from her Christmas’ long ago. I pray they all feel more thankful…..me included!
I went to Catholic school as a child so we had to wear black shoes. I remember they were comfortable and kept my feet warm in the winter. We didn’t like wearing school uniforms, but it was the rule and we obeyed, of course. I remember on picture day we could wear dresses, and boy was that a treat! As far as shoes, Mommy got us new tennis shoes in the summer and I remember I thought I could run really fast when wearing them. Today I mostly wear my sneakers and Crocs, especially out in the garden. Have a beautiful blessed day, All! I love you guys!!
I remember getting a new pair of tennis shoes each year before school started. I also was so proud of them I would sit them out in my room where I could see them. I couldn’t wait to wear them on the first day of school but when I got home each day, I always put on some old shoes. Same way for church. I had a pair of Sunday shoes and my church clothes but when we got home, I put on my play clothes and older shoes.
Tipper. Daddy told me a similar story about milking the cow. Daddy milked barefooted too and one day the cow was in a foul mood, and he said she stomped on his foot and tore his big toenail off. I asked him why he was barefooted, and it was also cold weather, and he said he only had one pair of shoes and tried to make them last as long as he could. There were ten children in his family so if they shoes held up, they were passed down to the younger ones. Same thing with the clothes.
As I think about this Christmas, I will never forget what daddy used to always say. ” I don’t want any gifts. My Christmas is getting together with my family and sharing a good meal.”
Until you posted about it the other day I had forgotten that during WWII shoes were rationed to save leather for the military. My Grandma was a single Mom for my Dad’s boyhood and he got one pair of shoes, probably “broghans”, a year for school and church. My brother & I wore them as boys also but for everyday shoes. They were ankle-boot style of thin sorta dull burgundy color leather, unlined with a hard leather sole and lace up with a few hooks at the top. They were not stylish at all. Fortunately we didn’t worry about that. When they got past repair we promptly used the leather for making slingshots (flipguns). Because my Dad only got the one pair of shoes, he would say shoes that were far too tight were OK. As a result, his two middle toes overlapped each other. In spite of that, he was accepted in the Marines and served a short hitch, being demobbed early because the war ended. “Hard Times” are much more effective than good times to instill gratitude. It wouldn’t serve us well, and we know it, to have too much too easily. Randy, I know you have been having a hard time now for over two years and now is harder still. But it is so clear from your posts you know what matters most, have lived it and want to help others to do so. Truly the Scrooges of the world have not known the blessings you have. Who knows but what, as Mordecai told Esther, “you were born into the kingdom for such a time as this?” This is just such a time and the world needs all the encouragement it can get.
Ron, thank you for your kind words. Thank you for remembering, today is 2 years, 8 months, and 5 days and my pain is still just as bad as when she died. When I was growing up in the 50’s and 60’s my granddaddy along with other “farmer” neighbors wore brogans. We referred to them as clod hoppers. I saw something awhile back that had a picture of shoes for the younger fashionable generations. The shoe in the picture looked an awful lot like brogans or clod hoppers. Maybe they have now became fashionable.
Oh the memories, tis so sweet to recall holidays! As a very young child we always spent Christmas Eve
at my Dad’s Moms house, my grandma was the best! This was in the early 50’s and she had a very small house, this was with 4 grown children and spouses, and all but 1 with 4 children. We kids would take turns playing (ah hem) her big old piano and nobody fussed at us. She had 4 rooms so we were wall to wall. The love that was always felt there was amazing. The joy we all felt as we ate chicken and dumplings with all the usual old time sides and then a couple of presents. My favorite was an orange and an apple. We little ones would notice the Dad’s were gone and they would say, oh Grandma needed such and such so they went to get it, they will be right back. We would go on playing. When we got home, Santa had been there!!!!!! Christmas celebrating Jesus’ birth and family is all I need.
Thank you for sharing so much, I truly love your family and hold you all in prayer. God bless you and yours.
Our hearts are blessed by your family memories. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Tipper, I so respect your dedication to your channel. “Come hail or high water”, you’re always at it…faithful to your calling. May God continue to bless you through the coming years. He’s faithful “come hail or high water”, too!
The first line from Nola reminds me of my family at Christmas time:) In fact, I was talking to my son last night and I said honey with all the gifts children are showered with today, in my growing up years, I didn’t expect any wrapped presents from my grandparents or aunts and uncles. Going down south to my Grandparents and the big family get-to-gathers with cousins was the “Gift” and oh my goodness I just could hardly wait to get there and yes we all were smiling from ear to ear and what fun we had. It truly was a joyous time where you actually felt the joy in your soul!
Merry Christmas friends of Appalachia, God bless you and your family in Jesus name
Lovely stories, Tipper. Thank you.
Merry Christmas, One and All!
You are so right, Randy. It is sad when the very last of a special group is gone, leaving just you. I lost my last Army buddy recently. He lived in Texas. As I heard it said at a military funeral roll call, “He is not present. He has reported to Supreme Headquarters.” Beautiful thought.
Gene, we have sent emails to one another off of Tipper’s blog. You have told me about your army buddy. In the last month 5 of my coworkers from my working days of 38 years at Michelin have died. This does not include many others that have during the other 11 months. One of them was a very dear friend and coworker.
As I reflect on my childhood, I always had a pair of shoes, however, I loved going barefoot. I am sitting at my computer now as I had to hurry and find all the info on the internet and didn’t take time to put on house shoes. It is a bit warmer here today also in California. I have quite a collection of shoes now, possibly, because growing up I had only one or two pair of good shoes. There was a girl in school who always wore shoes to match each outfit. I always dreamed of having many colored shoes. Now it really doesn’t matter. Walking barefoot on the Earth is most wonderful.
Times were hard in the coal-mining town where I was raised but I wish Christmas could be like it was back then. My dermatologist and I talked about how stressful Jesus’ birthday has become. She said she stopped the silliness a long time ago. Too many people to buy for and they have everything anyway. I told her I could remember every gift I got for Christmas because that was the only time of the year we got a toy.
Such a beautiful old Christmas card! I recognize the holly, but not the purple flower………
“Hard times”, maybe ?
The post today brought back memories of growing up in East Tennessee in the 60s. Usually on this week as a child we would end up around a pot belly stove at the Tobacco warehouse in Mountain City TN waiting on our crop to sell. After the auction, excitement was in the air Off we went to a meal at the diner in town and then shopping for clothes. The shoes we got were always a little large as they expected us to grow into them. Might have been hard times, but we didn’t know it at the time.
Tipper, in reading the similar post, Mother Loved Christmas, by Granny Sue on December 22, 2013, I’m curious in knowing if you all got together. I tried to access her blog to read her stories but it seems to be a fake site. With all the scams, I stopped researching. I enjoy reading stories of the past.
I agree with Randy, the Jenkins family and all others that faith, family and friends are the most important things at Christmas and all through the year. Clarence the angel in Its a Wonderful Life said you’ll never be a failure in life if you have friends.
Blessings and prayers to all.
Now it seems we are surrounded by Happy Holidays as opposed to MERRY CHRISTMAS! I say Merry Christmas every opportunity I get!!! By including the reason for the season, this time of year actually means love, gratitude, kindness, forgiveness and much more than fly by night store bought gifts!!! I go barefoot every chance I get and always have! Shoes somehow bind my spirit and feet both it seems. I can’t stand to wear the things! I got thick cabin socks so I can go practically barefoot in the house when it’s cold. Shoes you say? You’re welcome to all of mine! I got a load ready for Goodwill as we speak… If you’ll take those clod hoppers off, you’ll find a whole nuther sense of well being from being grounded to the electromagnetic field beneath our feet. Within minutes of walking barefoot on the earth, blood pressure, anxiety, and heart rate all drop. “Stay all night. Stay a little longer. Pull off your coat (and shoes) and throw ‘em in the corner!” May the Lord make his face to shine on you and give you peace in HIM!!! Blessings and goodwill to Granny and the expectant mothers and to all!!! There’s one on the main line who gets your care right every single time. In HIM there is no shadow of turning…My menu for Christmas is Roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, green beans, deviled eggs and PIG PICKN CAKE!!!! I need refreshing not heavy desserts. I hope to go to the store today… wrapped a few things yesterday.
Oh gosh, Christmas is such a happy and sad time of year. We lost our baby sister in March so this is our year of firsts without her. I miss her so much. I was seven years old and one day when she was born, and I thought she was my baby doll. I toted her around and drug her around in my little red wagon, and she loved every minute of it. I would carry her around on my hip with her facing out and my arm around her. Momma and Gramma would tell me not to carry her around like that, to turn her around to face me. I told them she loved to be carried facing out, but they insisted I turn her around. I did, and she started fussing and crying. I said – see, she wants to be the other way – and I turned her back around and she started giggling out loud. How can we remember these things so vividly? Family and friends and neighbors are so important to us all the time, but especially at Christmas. I loved the bloopers. Love and prayers to all of you and Granny and Little Mamas too.
At my house, we all still have “school shoes” (tennis shoes for school) and “everyday shoes” (tennis shoes for home). The everyday shoes are shoes from last year’s school year. My kids can’t wait until the last day of school when their school shoes turn into everyday shoes because their old everyday shoes have gotten quite small after wearing them for two years. We do that with clothes too. Good clothes for school, church, and other outings and everyday clothes for home.
And we still call them tennis shoes in the PA Appalachians too!
I only got new shoes when Harold’s old ones were too far gone. He always got new ones because he was the eldest and therefore entitled. That worked out pretty well until, around fifth grade, I surpassed him in size. No more “broke in” shoes for me but the pain of breakin in new ones was overshadowed by the pride of displaying them.
When we were little we wore “ankle boots”, plain rawhide shoes from the Sears and Roebuck Catalogue. Tennis shoes wouldn’t have lasted a day and a half on the rough rocky ground where we lived, worked and played. I longed for a second pair of shoes, something light and airy like tennis shoes, but that was not to be.
Until! In my mid thirties I got a brand new pair of tennis shoes. Yep, they were just as I expected. White, light and comphy. And mud magnets! White tennies and red clay mud have an unnatural attraction for each other. The rest of their time at my house was spent in the closet.
Eventually my brand new tennis shoes walked away from me but for the life of me I can’t recall whose feet were in them.
My father’s family loved get togethers. There was delicious food, barrels of laughter and plenty of reminiscing. It was because of these times of family gatherings that I became interested in genealogy. My maternal grandmother was also a joy to be around and she too had many wonderful stories to share.
I remember in the late 1950’s my parents purchased my brother a toy electric train set. They must have crimped and saved to do this. On Christmas Eve I watched as my dad and his brother were setting up this gift. I can still hear their laughter as they worked on this project.
My grandmother, father and uncle have all left this earth to be in their eternal home. I so miss their wonderful humor and stories.
All summer we went barefoot. When school started we would get a new pair of shoes, black and white saddle Oxford’s , a half size larger than our size fòr for growth. Those shoes were invincible! We also had red rubber boots that went mid calf with button loops on the sides to wear over our shoes for bad weather. hope all goes well with Granny!
I always got a new pair of tennis shoes when school started and always went barefoot in summer
in FL that is just the way it was. we did wear shoes when we went to town tho and always got a new dress and dress shoes st Easter. Christmas was a toy, we had so much family and my m I there friends there were always plenty of presents under the tree. the best part then snd now was getting together with family.
Good morning. I really enjoyed your candy making video last evening. I have a list of candy I want to make also. I got a start yesterday by making a huge batch of granola. I put some in wide mouth quart jars and decorated the lids for gifts for my children and neighbor and saved a container for me and hubby. I will be too busy today, as I am expecting three little visitors to spend the day here shortly. My day will be filled with playing… and maybe making one of my candies, as the two girls love to be “cookers”. Their brother is too small this year, but I am sure next year he will be in the kitchen with us. I have already made sugar cookies with all my grand babies once this year—It’s a messy, fun project. Merry Christmas. ♥️
I remember getting new clothes and a pair of shoes when school started. I also remember growing 6 inches that school year and kids made fun of my “highwater” pants. We just didn’t have the money for new stuff throughout the school year. I’m sure we could have if my dad didn’t smoke and drink like he did. I promised myself that my children would never get laughed at like I did.
Times have surely changed…when I look in my closet and see more shoes than I can count, I feel very fortunate and guilty at the same time.
Though I had three pairs of shoes as a child (black patent leather mary janes for church, saddle shoes for school, and one pair of Keds for spring/summer/fall, I remember being proud of them all–especially my church shoes. As my mother was 43 when I was born, I had only one surviving grandparent when I arrived, my maternal grandmother, and I adored her. She made my childhood Christmas memories such blessings. She was just about my favorite person in the world.
my dad was of hard times as well and of finacially challenged situ as well.his dad was a part time preacher and farmer.oldest of 6 kids and 1st and only to get a college degree.they got
1 pencil and pair of shoes for school.his dad of course bought the shoes.through some situatuon may dad was going to have to wear a pair of girls shoes.he walked through a mud hole on the way to school .fully knowing he would receive a whipping on returning home in the evening,but he told me that was worth not being ridiculed at school.
You sounds just like me, Tipper, only I am the same age as Granny. Those new shoes seems to be so special, especially back then. I loved the Bloopers last nite with the candy making. I think the Deer Hunter is coming into his own. He is getting to be a ham and it works so well on all of you guys. We are getting to see ‘his’ talent as a taste tester. I don’t remember if you said when Granny was to be retested, but Prayers daily for her. God Bless and see you on the ‘next video’ for sure.
Glenda-thank you! They are in the process of scheduling the right test. Hopefully it will be soon 🙂
I always had shoes, one good pair for school and church and one old pair for wearing around the house. I did go barefoot in the summer months. Mother wouldn’t let me go to town barefooted. Even now as an old man, I am always barefooted in the house, no bedroom slippers for me. I recently talked to a young girl (20 years old) that was wearing high top Converse shoes and told her back in my time her shoes were called tennis shoes. She said she had never heard that. I always had to wear the no name shoes – Kmart, Dollar Store shoes, my family couldn’t afford the name brands. Anyone remember the tennis shoes named Kids or Keds and especially the P F Flyers and their slogan “run your fastest and jump your highest with P F Flyers”? If I could have had a pair of them , I would have thought I had died and went to Heaven.
Your last sentence about family, as an older teenager and adult and the joy and happiness I had being with both mine and my wife’s family – all of us parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, in other words the whole she bang meant more to me than any present I might get. So many of them we would use our church social hall. My wife’s family would have get togethers through out the year, now with no one left in my family except for a few cousins I haven’t seen in many years and with many members of my wife’s family that have now passed on, it is no longer the same. I will be with my remaining three sister in laws and two brother in laws along with the nieces and nephews and their children for a get together Christmas Eve. My reason for begging everyone to spend as much time as possible with your family, outside of God, nothing on earth more important than family and friends, once they are gone it is never the same.