By Rodger Tveiten
Christmas 2025 is here and it is a big deal! Back in the 1940’s and 1950’s, it was a bit different, but still a big deal. Edwin (Ed) Johnson, born in 1941, lives west of Belmond and north of Clarion in the Saint Olaf area. He has some Christmas memories he wishes to document for his children and grandchildren. His notes and his statements are the basis of this article.
The son of Leonard and Gladys Johnson, Edwin was baptized and confirmed at the St. Olaf Lutheran Church and is still an active, life-long member. He remembers the annual Sunday school Christmas programs from his youth. These were always held on the Sunday evening before Christmas, often on the longest and darkest night of the year.
The sanctuary was always packed, he recalled. Many boys had bow ties and wore white shirts with suspenders. The girls wore dresses and had their hair fixed nicely. Carols were sung. The Christmas story was retold. There was a grand Christmas tree with lots of tinsel and no electric lights. There were extra candles but they were closely monitored as church fires were not unheard of, Ed said. Ed’s fondest memory of those programs came in a brown paper sack. As the children left the church for home, each was given their own goody bag with an apple or an orange, chocolate candy, peanuts-in-the-shell, and those striped, hard, sugar candies that only appeared at holiday time. We thought that was the greatest, he said.
Ed did not grow-up speaking Norwegian, but his mother did. She was even confirmed in the Norwegian language at the Holmes Lutheran Church, between Clarion and Goldfield.. Not only did his mother Gladys speak Norsk, but she could cook Norwegian, too. She started just after Thanksgiving. Ed said she made Lefse, Potato Cakes, Sandbakkels, Rosettes, Krumkake, Kringle, Mock Peppernuts and (get this) Chex Mix. She did this her entire adult life. When she was old, her granddaughter Laurie would help her. Ed said his mother was a great cook and many family memories revolved around these ethnic delicacies.
Ed wrote that the Saint Olaf youth in the early 1950’s would go Christmas caroling. Most people went to church in those days, but there were many home-bound because of age or infirmity. Times were different. There weren’t rest homes like today. Ed remembers caroling at the Cryder and Nettie Wicks home as they were caring for Nellie’s mother. He recalls group caroling at the Peter and Lilly Svendsen home and for a Soma family that lived in Belmond. He remembers how cold it was those nights. He remembers the kids piling into those drafty, old automobiles and heading back to church for some lunch. Cars had no seat belts in those days..
Christmas was less commercial back then, he recalled. Many Christmas gifts were home-made. Ed recalls that year-after-year, he and his now deceased brother Al (Alfred) would receive hand-knitted mittens from their Grandmother Josie Johnson. Ed recalled that his mother, Gladys Johnson made lap quilts for everyone. “I still have mine,” Ed said with pride. “However, my nephew (Darren) wore out his quilt, so Grandma Gladys had to make him a new one. I think he was a favorite,” Ed laughed.
Growing-up with my brother, Alfred, our Christmases were wonderful but not extravagant, Ed recalled “We didn’t have credit cards or overnight delivery. Christmas gifts from our parents were usually clothes and games. We always had good clothes as our uncle had a clothing store in Story City. His name was Arnold Johnson.”
“When were we boys, our family would go to Story City for the Charlson extended family Christmas reunion. These were my dad’s many relatives. There we would play with our many cousins. The adults loved to sing after the meal. They sang loud. We just watched,” Ed explained.
Edwin Johnson has many more Christmas recollections from the 1940’s and 1950’s. Ed’s family would always celebrate Christmas with a ham for Christmas dinner as many Wright County people still do. However, Ed’s family had Norwegian Potato Kumla with their ham. The Kumla & Ham was as much a Johnson Family tradition as were all the Norwegian desserts. However, the Kumla story will have to wait until next time
. In his notes for this retrospective, he wrote “Family is Real Deal in my Christmas memories. I am blessed that my daughters, Laurie and Lisa, are not faraway and often call to check-up on me. Their kids do the same. I hear from them all the time. Yes, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. I am thankful for the memories. I love it all. I am humbly grateful. Yes, I am so blessed!”, he concluded.
