The Key West Citizen Newspaper, December 23, 1939, Page 7

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1939: THE cre DED INN By HELEN CLARK WENTWORTH LL day long they had been go- ing by the inn, camels and don- keys stirring up dust, weary men and women resting by the stream outside the inn yard. The little coun- try maid had never seen so much travel. Just outside the city of Jerusalem, near by the village of Bethlehem, there were plenty of people who stopped for refreshment. And Jere- miah kept a good inn. He was a good man, too, But he was hard, spar- ing neither man nor beast. And his niece Rebecca was hard put to do the tasks @ that were set before her. “Why are there so many travelers to- day?” she asked the little slave girl who helped her prepare the evening meal. “The tribesmen,” replied Fatima, “are going to Jerusalem to be num- bered, so that they may pay their taxes. And this will continue for days. These are not times of re- Joieing and feasting for us!” Rebecca looked up as a bearded man, leading an ass on which a young woman rode, entered the courtyard. “Is the inn keeper here?” he asked gently. “My wife and I seek shelter.” “There are no rooms left,” Fa- tima told him, going on with her work. But Rebecca looked up at the ‘woman, whose face was weary and touched with pain. “I will see what provision can be made,” the little maid exclaimed. Her eyes never left the young wom- an’s sweet face. The woman smiled at Rebecca, and her husband smiled too. Rebecca’s face lightened ea- gerly and even Fatima found her- self softening. Rebecca had some difficulty find- ing her uncle, busy as he was with many things. Then it was hard to make him listen. “There must be some place, un. cle. That new stable, with the clean straw, would be warm and comfort- abl She cannot ¥o farther, I know “So be it,” he answered. Then, as they neared the group, he too was impressed by the young wom- and the lovely warmth “There is naught but he told them, ‘‘but Re- of her smile. the stable,” | ! BROADWAY MARKET | Wishing You All a PMEERY CHRISTMAS] and a HAPPY NEW =a LOWE’S —— | CASH GROCERY | Oe HGLIDAY GREETINGS | ; school. becca will seek to make you com- | fortable there.” Even after she had done every- thing she could, and had crept into her own dark corner for the night, | Rebecca found she could not forget the couple in the stable. Mary, the | man had called his wife. There was such a radiance about her. “I won- | der what makes her so different,” | Rebecca thought. And she opened | her eyes. In amazement she saw light in the courtyard, so much that it | seemed the dawn must have come. But the light came from a star that shone just about the stable. Out into the yard the girl crept, and sudden- ly she heard a child’s cry, a cooing, happy sound. | Rebecca looked about. No one | was stirring. Far off, on the hill- | side she saw what looked like a group of men, shadowy, indistinct, seemingly moving toward Bethle- hem. It must be her imagination. Possibly it was Ephraim’s vineyard she saw. Soon she stood in the stable doorway. There, lighted by a lantern, was Joseph, bending over the’ young woman and holding in his arms a tiny baby—her firstborn. At Rebec- ca’s exclamation he turned, and in- to her outstretched arms he handed the little figure and showed her the | snowy lengths of swaddling cloth. Tenderly the maid clothed the in- | fant and laid it beside the mother. “Thank you,” Mary whispered. “For the child’s sake and in His name, I thank you for what you have done. We thank her, don’t we, Jesus?” The baby opened his eyes and smiled. “He smiled at me,” Rebecca ex- = claimed, ‘I shall never forget, a new born babe smiled in- to my face to say thank you.” Mary drew the child into the shelter of her arms. Her eyes closed, Joseph | walked to the doorway and watched | Rebecca as she returned to her room. He, too, saw the clump of trees or vines, or was it a group of men on the hillside? Then he re- turned to the manger and settled down beside Mary and the sleeping Jesus. ‘Merry Christmas, Mary Christmas,’ Says Santa Claus What's in a name? Plenty, if it | | happens to be Mary Christmas, or | Santa Claus, and that’s actually hap- | pened. Both Evansville, Ind., and Racine, | Wis., have their Mary Ces and at Marshall, | Mo., there’s a jolly fellow whose last name is Claus, and whose | parents chris- tened him Santa. Evansville’s Mary Christmas comes from an old family which has had a Mary in each genera- tion. Racine’s Mary Christmas ; Mary Christmas got that way by marrying a fellow named Samuel | Christmas, and she’s now a tele- phone operator. Which explains that strangely personal and timely mes- sage long distance operators hear out of Racine around Christmas time: “This is long distance, opera- | tor—Mary Christmas!” Racine’s Mary Christmas, who is short, chubby and looks just like the artist’s conception of Mrs. Santa | Claus, gets hundreds of fan mail let- ' ters every year. Three years ago she appeared on _a Yuletide radio program and has been so deluged with fan mail ev- ; er since that she’s founded a “‘shut- in” club which , has members in ; 40 states, Cana-, da, Hawaii, In- dia, ae and | New Zealand. Mary Christmas © yarshall’s San- | ta Claus is similarly Christmas- minded. Each Yuletide he tries to answer the fan letters which come | from all corners of the globe, many in such strange foreign languages that he can’t reply. He’s much in | demand for church parties and oth- er Christmas affairs. Santa is a plumber on weekdays, a vegetable gardener on the side and a preacher | in the Church of God at Blue Lick, Mo., every Sunday. Two years ago, } when plumbing business was bad, he was grateful for a $250 check | sent him by Mae West, the actress. | In Roslindale, near Boston, lives | an Ambrose Claus who with his wife | last year celebrated his golden wed- | | ding anniversary. Like all other folks | me? ‘Virginia’ Still Has Faith In Santa Claus “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and gen- erosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to life | its highest beauty and joy.” Forty-two years ago an editorial writer for the New York Sun penned these now-famous lines in answer to a scrawled letter from a little girl named Virginia, whose faith in San- ta had been shaken. Today Virginia is grown up, mar- ried, and serves as assistant prin- ‘cipal in an east side New York Her name is Dr. Laura Vir- ginia Douglas and this Christmas she’s playing Santa Claus not only to her pupils but her own daughter. | Meanwhile, in 42 years she’s evolved To All Our Customers and Friends } 1117 Division St. Phone 675 BERLIN SAWYER some ideas of her own on what to’ =”. el PP PPE PP an tell children about Santa Claus. (|,4 Pink-cheeked, vivacious, yet shy | and hesitant in speaking of personal | | matters, Dr. Douglas is not in favor | of breaking the news boldly to a child that there is nd Santa Claus. He will learn naturally, she says, as | he turns from the free, imaginative | | stage of early childhood to an in- | terest in the world around him. BARBER SHOP THE ! SEASON’S GREETINGS To All Our Friends and Patrons 508 FLEMING ST. | Phone 17-W | spiritual. When she first became old enough to realize the full meaning of the Sun’s editorial, she felt badly be- cause poor children were not able | to have Christmas gifts as tangible evidence of Santa's existence. Lat- er, she says, she grew to realize that material gifts were not so impor- tant as the faith which even the very poor child could have in something “NOT AFFECTED Careful “Husband (with news-| paper)—I see that butter has |) gone up one and sixpence. Wife—Don’t worry dear, I’ve | been paying one and tenpence for = some time. PIS ZLZLLALLZAZLZLLL LLL . ONE-DAY SERVICE w: PO eekahad White Star Cleaners We Delight To Please Our Customers Greetings To All Duval at Angela Street . N Ny : WE DELIVER \ | | | SLALAAALALALAALAL AL La NN named Claus, they seem to have a lion's share of Christmas spirit. Men of Christmas Postmaster General James A. Farley receives Christmas cards at the rate of 1,000 a day during the Yule season. Vasco Da Gama, the great Por- tuguese navigator, was born on Christmas day in 1469, discovered Natal, Africa, on Christmas day, 1497, and died on Christmas eve, 1524, Oscar Phillips, postmaster at Santa Claus, Ind., cancels a half-million pieces of mail each Christmas season. President Roosevelt gets a toothbrush and cake of soap in his stocking each Christmas—an old family custom. Edward Keenan, who has en- acted the role of Santa Claus in Milwaukee since 1927, keeps a small herd of reindeer all year round for this purpose. Subscribe to The Citizen—20c weekly. a ! involving alcohol, kerosene or gaso- THE ‘KEY WEST CITIZEN “Silent Ni éeht, Holy: Nisht”’ DON’T: Safety Is Watchword For a Merry Christmas Here are a few “don'ts” for | | Christmas, recommended by safety t authorities: 1. Don’t give small children toys | line engines. They may tip over and | set the house on fire. | 2. Don’t permit small children to | run electrical toys without the su- | pervision of an adult. 3. Don’t permit small children to | use toy movie projectors without us- | ing safety film which burns slowly. | Ordinary film burns explosively and | gives off smoke and fumes which | | may cause death if inhaled. i 4. Don't use candles or light ex- | tra fires without being extremely careful, especially in regard to can- | dies on trees. 5. Don’t wear inflammable cos- tumes, especially Santa Claus beards, without fireproofing them. 6. Don't use inflammable orna- ments and evergreen decorations. — TRIUMPH — COFFEE MILLS Roasters and Grinders Of | STRONG ARM BRAND Cuban and American Coffee REE! g Une ] Wishing A— MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR To All Our Friends and Patrons ser 9 Ee Pchalski Village | | | | f Phone 683-J i} | etl Al a ee ROE EET PIII SILI IIIT SG TOS OM 38, Cf Don’t Marry the Girl Day After Christmas If you believe the early monks, don’t select the day after Christ- mas to get married, start a new job or put on that new suit. It's Childermass day, commemorat: ing the slaughter of the Holy In nocents by Herod, and In the ear- ly days was considered an ovea- sion of the greatest ill-omen. Children, according to legend, were soundly whipped Childer- mass day to impress on their minds the story of the baby mar- | tyrs. hx intense was the fear of this ‘ortunate festival that the coro- nation of England's King Edward IV was postponed in ofder to avoid the fatal date. Superstitious Villagers Fear Year of Bad Luck If Candles Die on Tree LONDON.—Early Christmas tra- ditions still endure among English Yule celebrants, No Christmas tree is considered complete in rural areas unless it is bedecked with little candles of dif- ferent colors. Many people count it an ill sign if once lit the candles go out or are snuffed out before they have burned to their ends. In old days the candle was made such a size that it would burn from the time it was lit until midnight. If it went out before that, evil was portended to the family for the com- ing year. The Yule log, which many hold should be lit by.a brandy preserved from the previous year’s stock, should be blown into a blaze by the maids, but thesé must have clean faces and hands or the log will not light ily. In the north of Eng- land it onte customea:y to let the setvants have free drink so long as the log burned. | Ex-Detroit Paper Boys Aid 65,000 at Christmas DETROIT, — Twenty-five years ago the late James Brady conceived | the idea of raising funds to insure needy children a merry Christmas | by organizing 4 group of men who as boys had sold newspapers in the city. The idea was for them to re- | turn to their old corners at a stated period and sell papers to all who passed. Last year this organiza- ‘tion of oldtimers raised about | $150,000. ONE HE CAN THROW OUT | She—“Daddy is so pleased to |hear you are a poet”. | He—“Fine. He likes then?” She—“Not at all. poetry, But the last , |friend of mine he tried to throw jout was an amateur boxer”. \GOTHAM CALL | Waiter—Would you mind set- | Uling your bill, sir?” We're clos- jing now. Irate Patron—But hang it all, I haven't even been served yet. Waitet—Ah, well, in that case cree | there'll only be the cover charge. vk MERRY. CHAE STMAS We Wish To Thank All Our Patrons For Their Business In 1939 And Solicit A Continuance Of Their Business In 1940 WILLIAM CURRY’S SONS COMPANY Hardware and Building Material NWP III IL I I ISI OID LD EIS. oe ahh rk dete My, Ae. Tie N N N N N N N \) N N N N) N) N N N & N ; \ : [ | PIII III II IID SS: To Our Key West Friends ANOTHER YEAR HAS ROLLED BY AND IT IS OUR PLEASURE TO ONCE AGAIN EXTEND TO YOU CHRISTMAS GREETINGS. WE TRUST YOUR HOLIDAY WILL BE MOST PLEASANT AND THAT GOOD FORTUNE WILL ATTEND YOUR ENDEAVORS THROUGHOUT A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR. Fd LE de de CASA MARINA PETER SCHUTT, Manager Chabad ddidddddtdtdddéedzdédéid dé 'LPLIIIII III I III I II IIL IIL MD PT IM = 7 Mi PAGE SEVEF |Bank drove would-be robbers | from the building. What They Want Maybe this will help you pick out Christmas presents. Sales Management Magazine recently asked 2,000 people for their idea of the “best Christmas present.” Here are the answers: JOHN C. PARK PLUMBING RE a BEST WISHES TO ALL | AT THIS HAPPY SEASON = 05> SMOKE FOILS ROBBERS DEEP RIVER, Conn.—The ene dense smoke caused by the acetylene torch with which they were burning a hole in the vault! door of the Deep River National }_ PHONE 348 < MO IPELAPLELO CLL OOO My . Our Wish To Our Key West Friends... —is a Christmas filled with Good Cheer and a NEW YEAR of Health, Happiness and Prosperity La Concha Hotel ELIZABETH SHARPLEY, Mgr. VIII A Of ee i llaeaiosiiiaetihaiaiebenlinatia CL hk bh hd hd hd hed hed deudk (\seeerceresensacasr The SeaS0Ir § Greetings To wish you an Especially, joyous Xmas and a New Year Abundantly supplied with Continued health and Oceans of Happiness 'S The Porter Dock C0. § Foot Of Duval Street . : | | ® PHONES—24 and 55 Yachtsmen Attention We Offer— COMPLETE MARINE SERVICE Including FOREIGN CLEARANCES At Our KEY WEST MARINE SERVICE STATION Basin At Porter Dock & s N N * ® ® ® N ® i) « & h) N N N) N ) ) N ‘ a N) N N) N) . K) Texaco Products : NP PPP PPP PEEP