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Knox County, Tennessee
Christmas of the Past
CHRISTMAS TREES
Santa Claus Continues His Rounds.
Highly Successful Entertainments at a Half Dozen Leading Churches Last Night.
One of the most beautiful and elaborate entertainments of the season was that of the Centennial Baptist church,
on Deaderick street last evening. There were a hundred and twenty-five participants in the exercises they sang
and recited.
The audiences at the Centennial are always so large on such occasions as this that it is necessary to give two
performances. At that of last evening only the members of the Sunday school, which is probably the largest in the
city, were admitted and nearly every seat in the church was occupied.
To-night the parents, relatives and friends of the children are invited and the program will be repeated. An admission
fee of ten cents will be charged for benefit of the Sunday school. The collection taken last evening was for the
poor.
Those participating in the exercises were either decorated with holly or wore quaint costumes. The little children
were all very sweet and were well trained. Their parts were all splendidly received. The singing of the entire
chorus was exceptionally good. They were largely character songs. One selection was preceeded by a prelude by trumpets
and bells. Then all the chorus chimed in and the air was fairly filled with music. One of the leading features
of the entertainment was the coming of Santa Claus who was impersonated by Mr. James Davis. A little girl tripped
to the telephone, while the organ lightly played a gay march, and telephoned Santa to come to the entertainment.
He came and was received in a way which he will not soon forget. He was greatly surprised that there were no nic-nacs
to be seen, but one of the little girls explained to him that thy preferred helping the poor to eating sweetments.
The program executed is in part as follows:
Anthem - "Glory to God," by the entire chorus.
Recitation - "A Child's Question," by Miss Nora Kehoe.
Song - "We Are Little Soldiers," by a chorus of small boys.
Recitation - "The Old Man in the Woods," Miss Cora C. Chenoworth.
Song - "The Christmas Waifs," by a chorus of little girls.
Recitation - "Almost a Man," by Master Branch Lewis.
Song - "What Santa Claus Brought," by a chorus of girls.
Recitation - "Sixty Years Ago, To-day," by Miss May Jarnagin.
Song - "While Bells Gayly Ring," by the entire chorus.
Dialogue - "The Little Cooks," by Misses Tennie Beets and Addie Collins.
Recitation - "Trouble in the Amen Corner," by Birdie Mett Wardell.
Song - "Bare Little Feet," by the girls of the Helping Hand society.
Recitation - "Santa Claus," by Miss Lawson Hall.
Prayer - Rev. J. H. Snow.
Song - "The Bells," by the entire chorus.
Arrival of Santa Claus and recitation by him.
Prayer by chorus - "Hear Us, Our Father."
The entire affair was managed by Mrs. J. H. Snow, who deserves much praise for the successful manner in which it
was conducted. The entertainment was of a high order teaching a good morals.
Knoxville Daily Journal, Friday, December 27, 1895. - Transcribed by, AJ
SANTA CLAUS CANTATA
Pleasing Festivities at the First Baptist Church.
The Sunday school room of the First Baptist church was packed almost to suffocation last night, the occasion being
the annual Christmas festivities.
On an elevated platform a Santa Claus cantata was performed with pleasing effect. Thirty-one children participated
in it. Mr. Saul Schubert did the Santa Claus act. Mr. Frank Devant made a capital snow man and Mr. E. A. Hackworth
gave a freezing interpretation to the character of Jack Frost.
The plot of the cantata centored about seven children waiting for Santa Claus with the purpose of capturing him
when he came to fill their stockings.
Eleven chimney elfs kept the records and saw that Santa paid proper attention to the stockings awaiting him.
Ten frost fairies dwelt with old Jack Frost.
Six bright little boys were the ingredients of a Santa Claus fruit pie. When the pie was exhibited the boys arose
out of it and sang a song about Christmas fruits.
The closing scene was a grouping of the children in which the fairies put the children to sleep while Santa Claus
vanished up the chimney.
There was excellent music and entertaining dialogue. The Wilhoite orchestra entertained with delightful selections.
Miss Mamie King presided at the piano. Miss Blanche McCallum was director of the music.
Prizes and presents were presented and there was a general distribution of boxes of confectionery.
Misses Delia Moses and Blanche McCallum are due the credit for arranging and having carried out the excellent program.
The Knoxville Daily Journal, December 25, 1894 - transcribed by AJ
SANTA CLAUS AT PLEASANT HILL.
For weeks and weeks the goodly people of the Pleasant Hill neighborhood had been preparing for a Christmas tree
entertainment to be given under the auspices of the Pleasant Hill Sunday School and for days and days the small
boys and the pretty rosy-cheeked girls, had done nothing but discuss the features of the forthcoming event and
wondering what the great godfather of all good little people would hang on the tree for them. The attendance at
Sunday-School had steadily increased since the first of October, and even "One-Eyed Bill" Smith's two
wayward urchins who were held up by good mothers as horrible examples had been gathered into the fold, blackened
the fronts of their brass toed boots and combed their hair, and were in the very front row of the infants' class
each Sabbath morn with a look of restless expectation lighting up their ruddy cheeks. Envious boys who attended
regularly, made unseemly remarks about the Smith urchins, hinting they would drop out of the class after Christmas,
which most likely they did, but the Smith boys paid no attention to these slighting words, for wasn't there a Christmas
tree in the distance, and wouldn't there be a bag of indigestible candy or peanuts and possibly a tin whistle or
a thrilling Sunday-school novel on that tree for them.
On Sunday before Christmas eve the full program was announced by the superintendent who was a young schoolmaster
recently come into the neighborhood, with a great deal of energy and some ideas new to the staid old brethren and
sisters. He had been drilling the classes in new songs which were not in the hymnal and had introduced some tableaux
and dialogues that were not strictly orthodox. So it took quite a deal of explaining to convince some of the older
heads that the holy edifice dedicated to the Almighty would not be desecrated by the performance, and that with
the constant increase in drinking, the defeat of the prohibition party in recent elections, the growing popularity
of dancing and parties, it was absolutely necessary to introduce taking novel ties into Sabbath-school work. Those
who were to take parts in the various dialogues and tableaux reported that they were up in their drilling, and
when the school was dismissed it was to conjure up pleasant anticipations of the Christmas tree.
At last it seemed Christmas eve was at hand. It was a cold, blustry night, with flakes of snow whirling with the
gusts of wind. The roads were inches keep in slush and muddy, the chronic condition of the country roads at Christmas
time. All the people in the neighborhood were there, that is all who attended the Sunday-school at Pleasant Hill
or had friends who attended. Of course there were some who remained away because they were not of the particular
faith that held forth at Pleasant Hill, or felt that they had been slighted one way or another in making up the
grand entertainment. Mrs. Simley's daughter, Mary, who could play on the organ and sing sweetly remained at home
because Miss Sallie Jones had been selected to preside at the organ on this occasion and little Tommy Brown, the
pink of modesty, staid at home all alone for fear he would be called upon to recite a piece he had memorized for
a former occasion and never recited. But by counting noses it could be easily ascertained that nearly all the best
people were there arrayed in their best clothes.
The church was brilliantly lighted - that is the combined illuminating power of two swinging lamps and a dozen
tallow candles made everything visible even to the little strand of gold around Miss Jessie Malloy's engagement
finger, and there was light enough to show that Miss Jessie was slightly nervous. The Christmas tree was commented
on as being very large just to hold a few presents, was tapers and strings of popped corn and everybody was wondering
how they got it inside the door. After so long a time the superintendent came out on the temporary stage or platform
and announced that the exercises of the evening were about to begin and he hoped that the children, "God bless
'em," who were no doubt very anxious to have Santa Claus appear and distribute the presents, would remain
as quiet as possible, until old Santa did appear which, of course he wouldn't do until the older people had listened
to the songs and dialogues and enjoyed the tableaux.
So the dialogues were done with, much after the usual fashion, that is to say, an awkward young man mumbled over
his lines or as many as he remembered, and a bashful young woman stammered the lines allotted to her so indistinctly
that even the small boys in the front row could not have understood them had they been expected to be listening.
Interspersed with music came the tableaux which only a few are expected to understand, and then came the event
of the evening. The superintendent came forward again and said that old Santa would be on hands as soon as he hitched
his reindeers, at which a score of little noses were flattened against as many window panes, but nothing could
be seen outside but the grusome forms of the trees and the long beams of light reaching far out in the darkness.
It seemed an hour to the anxious little hearts, but it was really only a few minutes until "Old Santa,"
himself burst upon the stage in all his glory with a cotton wig and long flowing wiskers that had no doubt done
heroic service in keeping the flies off some neighbor's gray horse in the summers long gone by: a fur overcoat,
and spectacles with no eyes in them, and carrying a tin trumpet and toy wagons all painted red, with yellow stripes.
He first made a little speech telling the children how on the first Christmas eve nearly two thousand years ago,
shepards tending their flocks on the Palestine hills saw a bright star in the eastern heavens and following it
came upon a mother and babe in a lonely manger and how that babe grew up to be a man, going about the world doing
good and was then put to death that all mankind should be saved and that it was the custom in all Christian countries
to celebrate the birth of that little babe and he, Santa Claus, visited every home and every Christmas tree in
christendom to bring presents to children who were good and to tell them of the Savior.
A deathly silence pervaded the room as he spoke and when he reached forward to hand down one of the red wagons
to a boy in the front row there was a general clapping of hands and stamping of feet. Another red wagon was handed
to another boy, the tin trumpet to another who immediately proceeded to test its quality of tone, and next a little
bucket of candy suspended from the nearest limb of the tree that bore the legend, "to Johnny Smith, a good
boy," and another only it was blue instead of red and was labelled, "to Johnny Brown, a boy who loves
his mother." and so on until nearly a hundred such buckets of various colors and tattooed with various sentiments
were distributed. A barrel of apples, which "Old Santa" had left in his sleigh was rolled in and the
luscious fruit distributed pro rata among the audience, so that all were munching candy or munching apples or munching
both, while the special presents were distributed. There was a bundle on the tree for Parson Johnson, supposed
to contain a new broadcloth coat, pairs of slippers, one each for the pastor and superintendent and several other
worthies; a Bible with pictures and a book mark in it for one of the teachers, a bright red shawl for another teacher
and mittens and knitted mufflers, and many other suitable and non-suitable things being there by "Sister Sue"
for Brother John and "father for his darling baby," and so on and on.
When all these things had been distrbuted, Santa Claus either accidentally or on purpose peered into the top of
the tree and discovered a large bundle, partly concealed by having the branches pulled about it.
"Am I deceived or is there a bundle in the top of this tree for some one," said he, shading his eyes
and looking up again. "If there is I'm sure I didn't put it there, and I wont take it down."
Thereupon the bundle fell or rather climbed down from the lofty height and fell at Santa Claus' feet. Much astonished
he read the lable on the bundle. "For Miss Jesse Malloy, the papers are in my pocket" was scrambled on
a sheet of foolscap and the reading of it naturally produced a sensation. However, at this juncture the bundle
whispered something to Santa Claus and got upon its feet.
"Does Miss Jessie Malloy claim this present, enquired Santa Claus?" whereupon Miss Jessie, blushing crimson
to the roots of her hair, nooded assent and walked towards the platform. At this, Parson Johnson remarked that
he supposed his services were needed and went forward. Briefly he pronounced a simple ceremony that made Mr. George
Washington Master and Miss Jennie Malloy man and wife.
The sensation produced was something fearful to comtemplate and worse to relate. The superintendent disclosed that
he had no part in the terrible conspiracy and Wagner, the carpenter who had arranged the supports for the Christmas
tree, declared that he only made them strong fearing that a barrel of flour would be put on for the pastor, and
Parson Johnson said he knew nothing of it until after Santa Claus had discovered the bundle.
Mutual explanations followed and old Mother Dusenberry, who was always putting her foot in it as the blushing bride,
afterwards declared, gave them her blessing, and said she hoped there would be something on the tree for both of
them next Christmas."
Knoxville Daily Journal, December 25, 1890 - transcribed by AJ
VISIT OF SANTA CLAUS
Christmas Celebration at the First M. E. Church.
Dr. Warner Surprised by a Fine Gift - Other Christmas Events at Churches and Residences.
Last night the entire seating capacity of the First Methodist church was occupied by a happy lot of people and
even standing room was at a premium. The pastor, Dr. Warner, got in late and stood with the rest of the boys who
were late.
The event was a grand celebration of Christmas and the program passed off merrily from begining to end. Mr. S.
P. Fowler, superintendent of Sunday-school, acted as master of ceremonies and led in the services.
At the right of the big organ was a big bower of evergreen and on the left a big evergreen tree.
On the face of the organ was a big colored banner bearing a bell which pealed forth the glad acclaim, "Glory
to God in the highest, peace on earth, good will toward men."
The most conspicious thing, but of no special beauty, so little as to give no suspicion of its true character,
was a big old-fashioned brick hearth and chimney. In front of it were suspended a number of black stockings that
were a yard long and evidently did not belong to girls, which were wadded full of presents. It was a very inspiring
scene.
A very pretty Christmas concert exercise, consisting of new music readings and recitations, was first gone through
with. The little ones who were booked for recitations performed their part in a very creditable manner and the
music was all very good.
At the close of this exercise Old Santa Claus, impersonated by Mr. Geo. M. Dodson, made his appearance, to the
interest of the small ones. He seemed somewhat dazed to see so many present and his kind old heart was disressed,
for he admitted he did not have half enough to go around.
He finally summoned a fairy, who came to his relief and converted the bricks of the great chimney into presents.
This was a stunner to the children, for every brick was turned into a red box of Christmas presents, and sure enough
old Santa had enough for all, and to spare.
Before he distributed the bricks, however, he insisted on Dr. Warner coming to the platform. The audience commenced
to applaud and the din increased as the doctor went forward and was presented with a magnificent new overcoat.
Santa then selected some of the older members of the audience to assist him, and arm loads of the bricks were taken
down the aisles and hundreds of children and older folks went home extremely happy.
Knoxville Daily Journal, December 25, 1892 - Transcribed by AJ
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