Beeks line: Family Christmas, 1917 What was it like?

Christmas for the Beeks (and Aldridge) families, one hundred years ago, may not have been the wild extravaganza that many families are (almost) able to provide today.  But Christmas, after Jesus, if about family, andthe Aldridges and Beeks provided lots of family, even back then.

Wilbur and Cleo Beeks were the people I thought about when I started considering this post.  They were almost newlyweds, with no children, yet.  I think they still lived in Wabash county because that's where Wilbur was drafted from, a few months into 1918.  Wilbur's parents, John and Elizabeth Wise Beeks, were still living, as were Wilbur's paternal grandmother, Mary Wise, and maternal grandfather, David Wise.  All those Wise's can be pretty confusing, but I'm sure the family knew them as much by first name as by family name.

 William Beeks and Mary Wise had had 10 children, and I only have a death date for one of them. So Aunt Sarah and Aunt Rachel and Uncle George, and so on may have been at family gatherings of the Beeks family.  John Beeks and Elizabeth Wise and three children, and I think both Chester (Bud) and Charity were in the area, also.  I haven't tried to trace children for these aunts and uncles but it's a safe bet that at least some of them had children.

On the Aldridge side, Cleo's only direct ancestors living were her parents, Harvey and Margaret Catherine Dunham Aldridge.  However, at least five of Harvey's siblings were living, and there may have been Dunham siblings, also.  Cleo had five or possibly six siblings who were living at the time, mostly spread out between Huntington County and Tipton County.  Also Harvey and Margaret were raising two of their grandchildren, who would have been part of any Christmas celebration. 

I wish I knew how many, if any, of these families owned automobiles in 1917.  If they didn't own automobiles, it might have been difficult for some of the family members to get together, especially since Christmas Day in 1917 was rather cool.  It was fair and 35 degrees for a high according to the Fort Wayne Journal, which would not have been ideal weather for a horse and buggy ride, at least not a long ride.  And family members who came, or went, as far as Kempton probably would not have gone and come back the same day. . Because of these long distances, it may have been just as difficult to schedule holiday gatherings then as it is now, with our busy calendars and "exes" that have to be worked around. 

I wonder what the family did for entertainment, in the days before smart phones and television and even radio.  I know Cleo sang well.  Did other family members sing, and did the entire group join in singing the Christmas carols we still love so much?  Was sledding or ice skating a part of their day?  I'm positive that food was a large part of the day, and possibly liquid refreshment, also, at least for some of the men. 

Maybe there were family disagreements, and maybe there were things that the family just didn't talk about, but it seems likely that in 1918, the family would look back and realize what a good Christmas they had in 1917.  In 1918, Wilbur was fighting in Russia, Bud was just getting home from the war, and I'm sure there were other family members who were also affected by World War I  Also the flu epidemic of 1918 was still to come, and there were other challenges as well. 

In retrospect, it seems that Christmas 1917 would have been a very good year. 

I'd love to hear from family members who can tell us more about Christmas in 1917.  There must be family stories floating around and I'd love to hear them!