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Everything’s<br />
Coming Up<br />
Suzanne Ross & Charla Jordan<br />
When we recall Christmas past,<br />
we usually find that the simplest<br />
things give off the greatest glow<br />
of happiness. – Bob Hope<br />
Each December the Brandon Garden Club<br />
celebrates the essence of Christmas with its<br />
Deck the Halls decorations at Brandon Municipal<br />
Center and Hometown Brandon article. Occasionally,<br />
there is writer’s block, and creativity packs a<br />
bag and leaves town with summer. This was one<br />
of those years, but a spur-of-the-moment decision<br />
to invite Brandon Garden Club members to a<br />
gathering to discuss their favorite holiday<br />
ornament opened a door to Christmas magic.<br />
A diverse group of women who might not be<br />
acquainted, much less friends if not for a love of<br />
flowers and gardening, shared memories of<br />
Christmas and displayed favorite ornaments both<br />
passed down through generations and recently<br />
acquired. Both handmade and purchased, the<br />
ornaments ran the gamut with Santas, angels, and<br />
crosses leading the list. As ornaments were<br />
displayed and memories shared, to paraphrase<br />
Laura Ingalls Wilder, “Our hearts were opened<br />
with memories of family, and we are better for<br />
having, in spirit, become a child again during this<br />
Christmas season.”<br />
In this spirit of Christmas, each owner hung<br />
their ornament on a small tree and gave its<br />
history. Special and heirloom ornaments are<br />
not always silver and crystal, as those shown by<br />
Charlene Duchie proved. The late 1800s to early<br />
1900s, treasures from her husband Bill’s family<br />
were a much-loved felt snowman and Santa plus<br />
a Christmas card given to his grandmother by a<br />
favorite teacher. And as special as these are, the<br />
one Charlene loves the best is a Polish hand-crafted<br />
Komozja Vatican jeweled cross that she and Bill<br />
purchased to honor Bill’s Polish heritage.<br />
Childlike and detailed handmade ornaments<br />
elicited positive Christmas memories. Two of<br />
Suzanne Ross’s were ones made by her daughter<br />
Allison in pre-school and her son Michael in fifth<br />
grade. Ann Wentz brought a knitted stocking<br />
made by her music teacher in McComb 46 years<br />
ago and a special angel ornament loved by her<br />
husband. Shelly Thornburg’s contributions were<br />
too large to hang on the tree. The knitted, rotund<br />
Santa and snowman brought smiles to everyone’s<br />
faces as they were placed under the tree.<br />
Another shared tradition is giving Christmas<br />
ornaments to children and grandchildren to be<br />
passed along to them for their own home when<br />
they reach adulthood. This pass-along tradition<br />
took a different twist with an angel ornament<br />
from Marty Vinson’s family. When her son Cris<br />
was six years old, he accompanied Marty on a<br />
shopping trip to the Barry Patch in Crossgates.<br />
The owner was unpacking angels made by a lady<br />
in Baton Rouge. As she and Marty “oohed and<br />
aahed” over them, Cris asked to buy one for their<br />
tree. Marty explained that they already had an<br />
angel. As they left the store an unhappy Cris<br />
asked his mother to go back and buy an angel,<br />
saying he would “take the money from his savings<br />
account” to pay her back. Long story short, an<br />
angel was purchased, graced the Mike Vinson<br />
family tree for many years, and now resides with<br />
Cris Vinson and his family.<br />
Brandon Garden Club members shared their favorite ornaments and their special stories.<br />
L-R: Charla Jordan, Suzanne Ross, Charlene Duchie, RoseMarie Klock, Sandy Parish, Shelly Thornburg, Marion McKee, Ann Wentz, and Marty Vinson.<br />
62 • Winter 2018
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