MY BIG RED STOCKING

                                           MY BIG RED STOCKING

                                                       NORMAN KELLY

 

I lived in a tiny house in El Vista, a new subdivision in Peoria County in 1937 with ten brothers and sisters.  Although Christmas was a happy day for us, we knew from experience that gifts would be rather sparse.  When I was five during Christmas of  1937 I can recall as if it were yesterday being promised that we would all get a big red stocking for Christmas.  We were told it was a gift from Santa and we could absolutely rely on getting that big stocking if we were good kids. Well, I can tell you with that promise from my mom, we actually behaved for most of December. 

 

Our Christmases were always meager, including the one where we did not have a Christmas tree. But, as always my mother managed to make Christmas Morning the most beautiful, happy day of our lives.  I remember when my uncles came with two cars to take us downtown to get our Red Stockings. My but it was an exciting day.  We piled out and ran up to the downtown theater and waited in line.  We saw a movie and a cartoon and suddenly the stage curtain opened and there HE was….Santa!  I could not believe my eyes as we all screamed and yelled at the jolly old man.  Then we excitedly formed two lines.  The boys went to the right and the girls went to the left.  We politely marched up on the stage where we were greeted by little elves all dressed in green.  We handed our tickets over to them and held our breath.

 

Finally, it was my turn and when Santa handed me that huge Red Stocking, I grabbed onto it with both my scrawny little arms and squealed… “Thank you Santa!  Thank you!”

Each year after that wonderful day my brother and sisters took part in the magic of the Red Stocking.  As an adult I have tried to pay back the generous people that made my childhood Christmas so exciting to me and my young brother and sisters. After all those years the memory of what that Red Stocking meant to me and my family clings to me like a wonderful dream.  Today the need seems to be even greater for our local kids so please give whatever you can to the local Christmas funds.

MERRY CHRISTMAS PEKIN, ILLINOIS…DON’T FORGET THE NEEDY KIDS!  This one is for my friend DeWayne Bartels. 

Editor’s Note: Norm dedicates this story to his friend DeWayne Bartels.