Christmas of 1923

“Without Christmas this would be a dreary world. No hearts would be gladdened by the cheerfulness it brings. The sick are cared for, the poor are fed, the children are made happy and all the world is happy, all on Christmas. Christmas brings a longing to do something to make someone happy. This spirit should be shown throughout the year, but it is always renewed at Christmas.”

Huntington High student Frances Chandler penned these words in Mrs. Hazelton’s English class in December 1923. That year Mrs. Hazelton assigned each student in her class to write an essay or story about Christmas.

Among the students in the class were Rosalie Carter, Alpha Gilbert and Ruth Mitchell.

If the word Christmas were uttered in class today, I bet some dumb parent would sue the school -- how times have changed.

This month, as we have in the past, we will be looking back at how our residents celebrated the holiday season in a simpler age.

The year of 1923 was a good time for our town -- the oil boom was bringing in revenue, the war was over and our soldiers were home again to celebrate the holidays with love ones.

A stately pine was cut and brought into town to grace the stage of the city auditorium for a Christmas program for the oil workers and their families. This tree was covered with bright lights, and each branch was decorated with colorful ornaments to widen the eyes of the young children.

This program was put on by the Oil Workers Union and Ladies Auxiliary.

A committee from the union would check to see if any child in our town was in need and they would be bringing Christmas cheer to them.

The program that evening included two songs sung by Huntington High student Virgil Elliott, a recitation “How Does Santa Do It” by George Ballard and vocals sung by Zelmas Wooley, Margaret Barnett, Donah Wilson, Romona Moore and Delma Walker.

Union secretary William G. Cameron portrayed Santa Claus during the program, and there were games for the kids and dances for the grown-ups.

The Manaraha Camp Fire Girls of Huntington Beach spent many hours packing gifts in a large Christmas box that they would be bringing down to cheer up soldiers who were confined in the hospital in Alpine near San Diego.

Their leaders, Henrietta Horne and Dorothy Mosher, saw to it that each girl brought in a box of candy to be placed in that Christmas box.

The Camp Fire Girls included Virginia Cortner, Helen Eddy, Marian Gleave, Zelma Brown and Kathryn Walker.

Our downtown merchants got into the Christmas spirit by donating gifts that would be awarded in a Christmas Eve ceremony opposite the post office on Walnut Avenue.

This event was sponsored by our Chamber of Commerce, and some of the more unusual gifts included an automatic windshield wiper donated by Arrow Garage; a Christmas dinner for four by the Golden Lion Café; a large auto spotlight from the Main Street Garage; an automobile Cig-a-Lit lighter installed by Mitchell’s Service Station; and a Bouquet Ramee Toilet Set given by O.B. Drug Store.

At the Boy Scout Cabin in Lake Park, the scouts invited their parents and guests to a Christmas party complete with a decorated Christmas tree.

The scouts also provided Christmas baskets for the poor and needy families in our town.

About 75 scouts and their families traveled to Santa Ana for a county scout rally and to watch as Gilbert Hotchkiss of Troop 1 was made an Eagle Scout.

Red and green colors decorated the living room of Frankie Wendle’s home for her yuletide party for her young friends.

The George Ballard family packed up their car and traveled to Oak Glen to spend Christmas Eve with Mrs. Ballard’s parents.

Members of Comus Club of Huntington Beach held their Christmas party at the home of Mrs. F.G. Swann of 403 13th Street, and throughout the Swann house were placed masses of bright red poinsettias.

The Girls League from our high school was busy planning gifts and decorations to send to ex-soldiers who were cooped up at the Soldiers’ Home in Tucson, Ariz., to honor those who were disabled during World War I.

Turner’s Dry Goods store at 115 Main St. had a most spectacular window display: On Dec. 21, while shoppers were eagerly buying last-minute gifts, a toy Christmas tree surrounded with artificial snow in the front window caught fire and filled the window with flames.

The fire was quickly put out, and a large assortment of Christmas goods and toys were ruined to the tune of $50 to $100.

It was later learned that sparks from a short circuit in the tree’s wiring had ignited the cotton around the tree.

In case you were interested in who won those Christmas gifts donated by our downtown merchants: The spotlight from the Main Street Garage was won by W.F. Coleman; the dinners from the Golden Lion Café went to George Tinsley; the Cig-a-Lit from Mitchell’s Service Station was installed in a car belonging to C.W. Lallibridge of Anaheim; and the toilet set from O.B. Drug went to D.M. Cray of our town.

These happenings were just a few ways our residents went about celebrating the Christmas season. To today’s residents, these events may seem trivial, but to those in an age without electronic gadgets it was a wonderful time to be alive, and they enjoyed the holiday season just as much as today’s residents and possibly a little more.

* JERRY PERSON is a local historian and longtime Huntington Beach resident. If you have ideas for future columns, write him at P.O. Box 7182, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.

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