VALLEY SETTLER
Published once a week in Pdlmer,
Alaska for the Matanuska Valley
Farmers' Cooperating Association,
for the purpose of giving nev/s of
the Association's work, problems
and accomplishments.
By... Lucilie Le Due
$1-75.
-10 rf* •. • •
per year
per copy
A MODERN CHRISTMAS
There’s a lot of difference be
tween the modern Christmas and the
Christmas we celebrated in our
younger days. The writer remembers
one Christmas in particular, when
he was a boy of ten, that certainly
was different than the present
Christmas days. On Christmas Eve
the v/hole neighborhood gathered in
a small frame schoolhouse on the
barren prairies of western Kansas.
Our Christmas tree was an old
cottonwood with no leaves at all,
just barren branches decorated with
colored paper to imitate leaves.
Strings of pop corn were criss
crossed around the tree and a few
sickly candles illuminated the
scene•
Of course there was a bunch of
noisy kids running around with keen
excitement in their eyes, secrotly
trying to locate their Christmas
presents. The mothers and fathers
were buzzing with conversation and
practically, everyone seemed to be
happy.
Finally a loud noise v/as heard at
the rear entrance and Santa Claus
burst upon the scene. All of us
kids recognized him at once, despite
his crude uniform,- and there was
some disappointment among the young
er set about this. But the older
and wiser kids didn’t care-all
they wanted was the presents. By
modern atandards the presents were
n’t much, but the kids v/ere just as
happy to get them as they would be
to get much more elaborate ones now
The entiro cost of all of the
presents for the fifty people who
were gathered there, probably did
n’t amount to twenty-five cents per
person. The writer received a ten
cent mouth organ and a fifteen cent
pair of mittens, and I felt I v/as
very lucky. Santa Claus was a grand
old man to me.
The thing that impresses me now is
that in those days, people lived
much simpler lives, and did not
have a thousand things that are so
common now, and yet, they were just
as happy as people arc now; perhaps
more so.
Before midnight, the people un
tied their horses and started home.
Well do I remember the sound of the
cold steel wagon-tires on the icy
roads, and how anxious the horses
were to got started after standing
in the cold wind for threo or four
hours.
The next day v/e went to a neigh
bor's home for Christmas dinner.
The fare was very modest, and most
of it was raised on the farm so it
didn't cost much. But v/e felt that
v/e had had a good Christmas and
v/cro happy about it.
Then, through the yoars, a change
came over the American people and
Christmas has become an entirely
different thing. It is largely a
commercial matter now. Few child
ren are satisfied -with the presents
that they receive, and some, even
demand certain expensive gifts that
their parents really cannot afford.
Many homos are deserted now on
Christmas Eve and all day Christmas.
The parents and children are more
interested in outside diversions,
and, wo regret to say, that many of
the parents and children spend
Christmas Eve in places of amuse
ment that leave them in a statfc* of
mental and physical exhaustion.
They are sleeping tho "ni ;ht be
fore" celebration off, on Christmas
Day.
Business men "ive mink coats to
politicians' wives for special fa
vors in government contracts. Lots
of Christmas presents arc given,not
to show fraternal friendship, but
to influence people who can give
them favors. Millions will get into
their expensive cars and race from
joint to joint with befuddled brains
and thousands will be injured to*
killed. The millionth victim of
auto accidents in tho U.S, will be
killed sometime v/ithin tho next few
days, according to statisticians.
Dishonesty in government and busi
ness is rampant because too many
people are willing to lie and steal
to gain power and money. V/ouldn't
it be better to slow down and re
store some of the oldtime virtues?
IVe could still have everything wo
nave now. The only change it would
nake, is that it might not come as
fast. Are we going to follow the
pattern of the Romans and let greed,
iishonesty and graft tear down our
civilization? We show every evi
continued on page 5