December 1982
Freddie Jernberg, 78, is looking forward to a better Christmas this year than in 1976, the one she remembers most.
That year "was a bad one," she said. Her husband, Roy, suffered a ruptured aorta on Christmas Day and had to be hospitalized for three months. Freddie missed Christmas dinner that year, but she was grateful to have her husband still alive.
It took quite awhile to get over it," she said, "but he feels just fine now." They lived in their own home on South Broadway and went the Senior Citizens' fellowship and a noon meal.
Her parents and their nine children came to Firth from Mississippi on the recommendation of friends when she was 4 years old. She says their tree was decorated mostly with popcorn. They usually had chicken for dinner, and the family couldn't afford to buy any toys. Their gifts were "mostly clothes. Mother made a lot of the clothes."
Christmas generally brought with it a gathering of friends, but 1916 was an exception. "I was going to school then, and we had so much snow we couldn't go anywhere," she said.
The Jernbergs don't put up a Christmas tree any more, because there is no one at their house to enjoy it with them. "It's nice to see all the decorations," she said, "but I think everybody spends too much. They should have some, but the kids get so much they don't have time to enjoy it."
Photo back row: Freddy Jefcoat Jernberg and Cleo Dunn Jernberg
Photo front row: Elmer Jernberg, Roy Jernberg, Dave Jernberg
Author: Mildred Staley, Post-Register Correspondent