Christmas Supplement

Child treasures memories of books, handmade gifts

By Bonnie Schott (Special to The Criterion)

When I was growing up in the 1950s and ’60s in Indianapolis, my father was the janitor and school bus driver for St. Roch School first then Immaculate Heart of Mary Church and School for about 30 years.

Money was always tight as Mom tried to feed and clothe all 10 of us children on Dad’s income and keep us in Catholic schools.

Looking back, Christmas must have been a challenge for her as she heard us pour out our heart’s desires to Santa.

Even though she couldn’t afford new dolls for us girls each year, she always found ways to sew beautiful new doll clothes for us from scraps of fabric that people gave her. She did the sewing after we went to bed so they would be a surprise for us on Christmas morning.

Sporting our little “overnight” suitcases of homemade doll clothes, we were the proud owners of miniature works of art, and didn’t realize it until years later when we were trying to pull together memorable Christmases for our own families.

Growing up in Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, we lived near an early Goodwill Store, which was about a mile’s walk north of our house. It was always an adventure to walk there with our mother and see what we could find for a nickel or two.

We would save up our earnings from redeeming glass Coca-Cola bottles found in the neighborhood then purchase some treasure at the Goodwill Store. I was always drawn to the toys and books.

Golden Books were a nickel each at the Goodwill Store. I would get so excited if I could afford one or two, but in my heart I always wanted to get the whole big stack.

One Christmas, Santa surprised me with 20 used Golden Books from the Goodwill Store! I could hardly believe my eyes when I opened the gift. I knew that my Mom and Dad would have spent a whole dollar on just me to provide such a bountiful gift. Dollars were hard to come by in those days at our house.

I not only read the books to myself over and over, but also read them to my younger brothers and sisters as we played school, “house” and other imaginative activities.

To this day, whenever I think of special Christmas gifts, I always remember my joy and surprise when I received those 20 precious children’s books with their shiny gold bindings.

But more than that, I remember what a struggle it must have been for my Mom and Dad to provide Christmas presents for all of us.

And I thank God for all the generous Christmas Angels who reach out to the poor at Christmas every year and make dreams come true for children who would otherwise have nothing. Many of those Angels are my friends.

Now my Mom and Dad—Joseph and Hazel Burns—are enjoying “The Ultimate Christmas” in heaven with Jesus. May God reward them for the hard work and sacrifices they made for so many years to take care of our family.

(Bonnie Burns Schott is a member of St. Roch Parish in Indianapolis.) †