Christmas House

Surely you all remember the Klimczuk Christmas House on Jerusalem Avenue. Newsday had a story about it when Mr. Klimczuk died in 1994:

"For as long as anyone can remember in Uniondale, there has always been a Christmas house - the house on Jerusalem Avenue adorned each year with lights and electric candles, a red Santa's mailbox, a wishing well, a sleigh on the roof and Santa's workshop in the back.

And there was always Sam Klimczuk, dressed up like Santa Claus, handing out presents to the children, who lined the street on Christmas Eve. "He had so much stuff it was unbelievable," said Vincent Alexander, Klimczuk's next-door neighbor for 15 years. "He gave you the Christmas spirit. A lot of people say they don't feel the Christmas spirit. But if you lived next door to him, you felt it. " Klimczuk would start decorating right after Thanksgiving and soon the brick house with faded yellow siding would be lit up like a carnival - altar boys, elephants, the Pope, eight Christmas trees, reindeer, a black Madonna, a space shuttle and crew, chirping birds.

And just as the December sun would go down, thousands of lights would turn on. "Thousands of people came," said Jack Chan, chief of auxiliary police in Uniondale. "I think he was the greatest. He was willing to do all this work just to make some people happy, especially young people.' There were so many lights, some of Chan's officers helped Klimczuk rebuild a used Army Reserve generator so he could provide his own juice, Chan said. For the last 30 years on Christmas Eve, Chan and a dozen auxiliary officers directed traffic and kept the lines moving. The lines stretched around the block. Although the traffic sometimes got to be a nuisance and screeching brakes mingled with Christmas music, the house was part of Uniondale's landscape.

What We Wanted For Christmas

How did we know what we wanted for Christmas in the days before television, glossy newspaper and magazine advertisements? The Sears Wish Book was our bible. I don't recall regular visits to department stores, though we probably did visit Santa Claus, didn't we? Help me out here guys.

I suspect we had more generic requests--bike, trains, truck, dolls, chemistry sets, tinker toys. I recall being thrilled with a cake baking set. We didn't long for specific brands, colors, sizes. Most of our presents did not require batteries. We were aware that Mom and Dad were not rich. But my memory could be playing tricks on me. Perhaps I spent hours gazing over the Sears catalog and coming up with a 25-item list. In my old age, I have learned to mistrust memories that compare me favorably to younger generations. When Katherine was 5, she said, "anything Santa wants to bring me for Christmas is fine with me." I doubt a Koch would have been so unmaterialistic.

Christmas Guys, 1959

Stephen, Michael, and Peter experiment with varied identities at Christmas, 1959. Dating these pictures is a challenge where there is no obvious clue like a graduation or an identifiable vacation place. Sometimes the slides are dated, which helped me out here. Stephen is wearing a Notre Dame football shirt that Uncle Frank gave him when we visited Uncle Ken at the Paulist Novitiate in 1956, but that doesn't help much because Michael would have been a baby if it were 1956. It got easier to decide how old my brothers were when they stopped wearing the same crew cut.

I used to think Dad only took pictures during family vacations, Communions, Confirmations, and graduations. When I was looking for Christmas slides, I realized that Dad only took pictures outside. Either he didn't have a flash or the flash worked very badly. The few indoor shots are poorly lit. I have to work hard to make them bright enough to be visible.

Christmas 1959

Richard, Stephen, Peter, and Michael pose next to the Christmas tree in the dining room. I would imagine this icture was taken in 1959. I wish I could see the tree more clearly; I probably still have some of those ornaments. Is Peter holding his blanket?

All the boys seem to be sporting homemade haircuys. I rememer how thrilled Mom was when she got the buzzers that would enable her to save money on barbers and how frightening her first attempts were. I would have left home before I let her touch my hair:)

Our Christmas trees remain a mixture of tacky sentimental ornaments and more tasteful ones. Mom's ornaments have become more desirable since we can no longer tease her about them.

Mom and Mark, Christmas, 1959

I think this is 1959. Mark was that big when he was 18 months old. Mom made those stockings for us in her domestic phase. Before she went back to college, she pursued crafts; I recall her making hats and sock monkeys. She also was a good seamstress, making most of my clothes until I graduated from high school.

I still have most, if not all, of those stockings. What happened to the brass plate on the wall? I will be posting other Christmas pictures, hoping to stir up memories.

Christmas 1953

Previously I have labeled this picture Christmas 1953. I am eight; Richard is 6; Stephen is 5. I have begun the fruitless quest to curl my hair. I have not yet admitted even to myself that I need glasses, but I am cheating on school vision tests.

Richard and I are demonstrating our precocious musical talent on a giant xylophone. Stephen does not yet appear to have his chemistry set.

So many pictures appear to be of us in our pajamas. Does anyone remember how early we were allowed to get up on Christmas day? What time were we supposed to be in bed every night? I recall monumental fights with Mom all through high school about bedtimes.
She needed her sleep so I had to go to bed earlier than I wanted or needed to.

Mom on a Ladder, Christmas 1953

Characteristically, Mom is on the ladder decorating the top of the Christmas tree. Notice she isn't holding onto anything to keep her balance. She does appear to be wearing an apron. I am just grinning for the photographer. It probably never occurred to either Mom or Dad to reverse roles.

I keep noticing all that tinsel on Koch Christmas trees. The Hawkins family long ago abandoned tinsel for fear first the babies and then the cats would eat it. Besides, Chris could not stand to watch the girls hurl tinsel at the tree in huge clumps.

Legend has it that Mom was on a ladder painting the living room ceiling the day Richard was born. Given that he was born at 11:45 pm, that is probably true.

Family Christmas 1953

This posts are going to be organized by stream of consciousness. I wondered who took this picture. For a change, Dad is in it. (I found a later picture that solved the mystery; Sophie took it. Sophie needs a post of her own.) Beneath the stairs are MJ, Richard, and Aunt Mary. I can't explain what I am wearing on my head. On the stairs are Aunt Joan, Dad, Mom holding Peter, Uncle Dick, Grandma Nolan, and Stephen. This was taken at Christmas 1953.

The bannister of the stairs never changed. They don't seem to be carpeted. Do anyone else remember the wallpaper? Next to Aunt Mary, almost out of the picture, is our first Hi-Fi. I think it remained in the basement for most of our lifetimes. I remember how excited I was when Dad first bought it. I recall hearing Beethoven's Symphonies around that time. Dad loved classical music; he makes knowledgeable references to it in his letters to Mom during the war. He always wanted to listen to WQXR (the classical music station) in the car. In another picture, I discovered that there is a bookcase under the stairs; we got the Hi-Fi later on.l

Mystery Fireplace--Christmas 1951

I suspect this picture was taken at the same time as the first one of Mom reading, Christmas 1951. We are all wearing the same pajamas.

But where are we? Is that a fake fireplace with the sole purpose of providing a place to hang Christmas stockings? Does anyone remember that wallpaper? Selecting wallpaper does not seem to have been one of Mom's talents.

How long did you believe in Santa Claus? Roger Tuffili (sp?) corrupted me about both Santa Claus and sex. I didn't believe him, and stayed up Chrstmas Eve to confirm the sad truth with my own ears. I suspect I must have been about seven or eight. What I don't remember is whether I immediately spoiled my brothers' innocent faith in Santa. Vanessa and Elizabeth were eager to corrupt Katherine, but all three conspired to keep Patricia a believer for as long as possible.

Does anyone else remember how excited we were when the Sears Christmas catalog arrived? That was our principal source of ideas for presents. We didn't have television to seduce us.

Christmas 1949

This photo was labeled Christmas 1949; I would have thought my being in thrall to curlers started a little later. I am "reading" Children's Garden of Verses. Stephen appears to be in the same walker that Richard was riding in when Lorraine Larsen (not his sister) pushed him down the stairs. Mom looks so absurdly young to have three children, but then she was only 28.

First Christmas

This was taken at Christmas, 1945, in the Nolan house in Queens Village. I was five months old; Dad was still in France. Mom seems remarkably calm about my playing with the tinsel. I can't capture my earliest memory of 105-11 220th Street. That isn't surprising since it was my home until I was 19 months old. I remember the unusual better than the everyday. Patricia doesn't remember living in Bangor until she was 18 months old. I remember being in Grandma Nolan's dining room when Mom bought Stephen home from the hospital on Thanksgiving, 1948. I suspect I remember that more because the hospital sent Mom home with candy for Stephen's sister and brother.

As far as I know, we visited Queens Village every Christmas Day until Grandma moved to Uniondale sometime in the early 1970's. My most vivid Christmas Queens Village memory is the shows Uncle Jim organized for the cousins to perform.