Merry Christmas from Col Campbell's Barracks

I hope that the readers of my little blog have a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year! 

Mrs. "Col Campbell" (on right in blue shirt) and other church ladies stuff hand-made and decorated stockings for the kids who have to be hospitalized on Christmas Day.  This is an annual tradition at our church.



And now a selection of Christmas trees for your enjoyment.

 

The "Campbell" Family tree - this year with lights for our new grand-daughter's first Christmas.

The Chrismon tree of the "Cammpbell" family church.  The decorations are all hand-made by church members over the years and depict the many signs associated with Christ's birth.

The tree at the Colonel's place of work.  This is a year-round tree whose decorations change with the season.  And yes, it is placed in a green metal trash can!

Although not a tree, this is in honor of the 50th anniversary this year of the animated "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" production.  It belongs to one of my co-workers who really enjoys the program.


The top floor contains my contribution on the left - a "Klingon"-type troll who has joined in the festivities!

 



Christmas 2011 at the Barracks - Part 2

On this day, all of us at Col Campbell's Barracks wish you and yours

Very Merry Christmas

and

A Happy and Prosperous New Year !!!

Christmas Tree at Col Campbell's Barracks

Christmas 2011 at the Barracks

Two years ago, I brought you some scenes from the Christmas activities at the Mississippi Archives where I work.

Christmas Trees:    Antebellum
                             Victorian
                             Depression Era

Trains at the Archives:    Possum Ridge

This year we added a new tree:

And the trains are still running at Possum Ridge, our fictitious Mississippi town:

The lovely Rachel from our Museum division watches as the chief engineer works on an engine.

A young visitor watches the Illinois Central's City of New Orleans as it passes on its way down to the sea.  The orange and black three unit train immediately behind the Ice House is the Rebel, a Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio fast passenger train.

The monuments in Possum Ridge's town park, including one (left rear) to the town's namesake.  A hobo catches a nap on the park bench.

One of the newer acquisitions to Possum Ridge's economy is a cotton gin on the outskirts of town.

The gin is supplied by one of the many cotton fields prevalent in Mississippi.

Another new "addition" to Possum Ridge's economy is carefully hidden behind a kudzu draped abandoned house located far from prying official eyes.

On the other side of town, members of the local Missionary Baptist Church welcome new members to their flock.

The lovely Rachel tries her hand at steam engine repair under the watchful eye of the chief engineer.

For more information and pictures of the Possum Ridge layout and buildings, please take a visit to our department's blog, A Sense of Place.  If you are interested, you may subscribe to notices of new blog postings.

And for a final look at Christmas at the Archives, the tree that is present year round in the work area where I spend my time.  This tree is appropriately decorated for other times of the year, such as Mardi Gras, Easter, etc.

Yes, it is sitting in a large trash can since the stand that came with it broke several years ago.

And so once again from all of us at Col. Campbell's Barracks, we wish you a

MERRY  CHRISTMAS !!

and a

Very  Happy  and  Prosperous  New  Year !!

Depression Era Christmas Tree

Our final tree is from the Depression Era (1930s). One would expect a "grim" looking tree with jobs and money scare, but as you can see, it wasn't. Surprising what human imagination can conjure up out of common items, isn't it?

As electricity became available to many Mississippians in the 1930s, electric lights were added to Christmas decorations. Families continued to use a combination of handmade and commercial ornaments. Since money was scarce, one family chose to wrap up "messages" addressed to loved ones as gifts. Other decorations included paper chains and glass balls. Toys under this tree include Popeye (ca. 1935), an airplane model of Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis (ca. 1930-1940), and Tootsie Toy trucks (ca. 1933).

I hope that you have enjoyed these Christmas trees. From all of us here at Col Campbell's Barracks, here's wishing you:

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND
A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Victorian Christmas Tree

Continuing with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Christmas decorations is our Victorian tree.

[Please click on the picture for a larger image.]


This late Victorian Period (1870-1890) tree is decorated with handmade ornaments common to that era, including gumdrop rings, paper fans, red satin roses, and cornucopias filled with nuts and sweets. Commercially made ornaments were also available at this time. A German tradition from this era involved the placement of a pickle on the tree. Legend had it that the child who spotted the pickle first on Christmas morning would receive good luck for the coming year -- and an extra present. Dolls continued to be favorite toys, with the decade of the 1880s marking a shift from adult dolls to baby and child dolls.

Tomorrow will show a Depression Era (1930s) tree.

Antebellum Christmas Tree

Since 2005, the Museum Division of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History decorates the lobby of our main Archives building with Christmas trees from Mississippi's past. This year we have three trees representing Antebellum (pre-Civil War), Victorian, and Depression Mississippi. Today the Antebellum tree is showcased. The others will have their "moment in the sun" over the next two days.

These trees are decorated with original or replica period decorations. The toys and gifts are also original period pieces from the Museum's collections.

[Please click on picture for a larger image.]



The placard reads: "The Christmas tree, introduced into England in 1841 by Queen Victoria's German consort Prince Albert, began to appear in Mississippi homes about 1850. The earliest documentation is in the 1851 diary of a Vicksburg housewife who wrote of her family's first Christmas tree. Early trees were decorated with handmade ornaments made from readily available materials. They included yarn and cornshuck dolls, quilted snowflakes, and candles. The doll Rebecca Saunders Gage (ca. 1850), with a wax head and clothed in pantaloons and dress, has been a favorite of museum visitors since the early 1970s."

Before 2005, these trees graced our Old State Capitol Building, constructed in the 1830s. But Hurricane Katrina forced us to move them into the Winter Archives Building, where they have been every Christmas since.

And as a personal note, my wife still makes crocheted snowflakes that we use on our family tree each year.