A Special Canadian Christmas

I think we have spoiled our boys for Christmas almost every year that I can remember.  It's not because we want them to focus on things, it's more because we have been able to and it is so much fun to give.  I'll always remember the looks on their faces on Christmas mornings when they were young, and the time together as a family as they have gotten older.   But, as a family, I can truly say that we have never experienced a Christmas like Marian Jeppson Walker did in Alberta, Canada in 1927.

After moving from Utah to Canada to pursue the rumored homesteading opportunities there, the Jeppsons soon realized that they had missed the great opportunities in Canada by about five years.  Things had gone from bad to worse and, during this Christmas season, the cow had died from starvation and exposure to the weather, the chickens had stopped laying eggs, their clothes were thread bare, and there was very little coal to warm their one room shack on the prairie. 

Swallowing her pride, Mary replied to a letter from her family in Utah, asking them for some modest supplies for Christmas.  But for over a month, long trips into town had yielded no reply or supplies.  One last trip to town on Christmas Eve had produced the same results.  As the children went to bed that Christmas Eve and hung their stockings in anticipation, Mary knew that Christmas would bring only disappointment and pain, but for some reason she could not tell them that night.  

Mary awoke at 3:30 to stir the fire to create some warmth in their home.  And as she was about the go back to bed, she heard a faint knock on her door.  When she opened the door, Mr. Scow, the area mailman appeared, snow-covered and frozen.  He knew the desperate plot of the Jeppson's and had decided to deliver crates from Utah to Mary and her family so that they could celebrate the miracle of Christmas that year.  It had taken Mr. Scow eight hours to make the one hour trip.

When Mary's family awoke that Christmas morning, they awoke to the smell of sizzling bacon, hot cinnamon muffins, bottles of syrup, jars of jam, and canned fruit.  The children's stocking were stuffed with homemade taffy, fudge, and divinity.  The girls received dolls that had been made special for them, the boys had marbles. 

But more special than the gifts and food on that special morning, the love of a caring family from afar, and a determined mailman that literally went the extra mile, the true gift received was a childhood that had been given back to the children along with their hopes, and their dreams, and the wonder of Christmas.