“What’s all this?” I asked inquisitively, never figuring Cowboy Talltale to be a crafter.

“This is history. This is Christmas of Yesterday -- my childhood, my childhood activities forced upon me when us kids would get too rambunctious. This was my mother’s solution to having PEACE while at the same time having a productive way to decorate for Christmas.”

“You see, my mother lived through the Great Depression. She often said they were so poor that they didn’t realize a depression was going on but that didn’t stop her from finding ways to overcome poverty to keep her faith and spirit of Christmas alive and heartwarming. So heartwarming, in fact, I am helping my lady friend (Cowboy Talltale’s love interest -- perhaps one-sided) find ways to keep her grandkids occupied. During these COVID-19 times, with the Rona virus (Cowboy Talltale’s pronunciation), they need an outlet since many of their activities have been cancelled.”

“As a kid, I often thought our nature crafts were somewhat ugly but, with age, I realize how precious they are: the precious gift of imagination our mother instilled in us, along with the gift of overcoming obstacles, such as poverty, to kindle our inner spirit of determination. Precious! Especially during these hard, hard times.”

For our younger readers, the Great Depression came about when stock prices started falling on September 4, 1929. The Great Depression became a worldwide economic crisis within a few weeks when, on October 29, 1929, the stock market completely crashed. Devastation from the crash was felt by families for more than a decade, only subsiding in the late 1930’s; jobs were lost; money was gone; food was scarce -- leaving a very bleak, miserable scar on American history.

Unfortunately, the difficulties of the COVID-19 Pandemic have been compared to the Great Depression in that many have lost their jobs and/or work hours affecting financial stability. The ability to pay for housing, food and necessities has been greatly diminished. But perhaps, it is the determination of the strong-willed to carry forth -- with imagination and fortitude -- perhaps those like Cowboy Talltale will create heartwarming Christmas memories to survive many lifetimes.

And according to Cowboy Talltale, it starts with the Christmas tree. “Send those youngsters out to collect juniper berries lying on the ground. Get a good sharp needle, thread it with tough string, let the juniper garland begin! We used to wrap them around and around the tree. Beautiful blue juniper beads!”

“Pop popcorn the old fashion way. Get a big pot and put a little oil and uncooked popcorn kernels in the bottom. Place it on top of the stove on high heat. Be sure to put a good lid on the pot or **** (expletive) popcorn will go everywhere! The joy is in hearing the corn pop. Once the popping is done, remove from stove – quickly, so it doesn’t burn! I like to eat a bite or two and then string the popcorn just like the juniper berries and wind around the Christmas tree.”

“Send those ‘younguns’ out again -- this time to pick up pinecones. Once gathered, spray paint them gold, silver, whatever festive color you like. Add a few buttons or old necklace beads with glue and take wire to thread them into a festive wreath or hang them single (individually) from a string on the Christmas tree for an ornament. Good-looking ornaments!”

Being a bit curious, I asked Cowboy Talltale, “What’s the potato for?”

“To make Christmas paper! Of course!”

“Of course??” I thought.

“Take the oldest potato you got -- not rotten, just old. Cut in two. Here’s the magic part. If you want to make a painted ornament stamp on newspaper, cut the potato in half where it is round. If you want to make a painted candy cane stamp to stamp on newspaper cut it length wise. Use your imagination. Once the potato is cut in half, carve a design on the white part. Sometimes, we would tell Mama what we wanted and she would do the carving to save us from bodily harm. You can use pumpkin carving tools from Halloween if you have some left. Dip the carved potato edge into paint and stamp on newspaper. Makes cheerful, home-made wrapping paper. One of a kind! If you’re really good, you can carve an angel with wings!”  

At this point in the conversation, Cowboy looked at me with doubt. “Maybe you should stick with the ornament stamp,” he said with a chuckle.

Spending the afternoon with Cowboy Talltale crafting Christmas décor is a memory I will always cherish. Sticking my fingers many, many times with the needle while threading juniper berries certainly took my mind away from the negatives. Hearing him laugh and laugh at my potato carving will certainly be an inspiring remembrance of joyous moments. But perhaps Cowboy Talltale stated it best when he recalled his Christmas of Yesterday with his mom and her encouragement: “The precious gift of imagination our mother instilled in us, along with the gift of overcoming obstacles, such as poverty, certainly helped to kindle our inner spirit of determination.”

From our house to yours, wishing you and yours a very Blessed and Merry Holiday Season! May the joys of yesteryear fill your heart with delight; may the festivities and decorations of the season fill your spirit with glee and may sharing your heartwarming experiences bring happiness to others. May the Band aids you place on your fingers stick and if you hear Cowboy Talltale still laughing, please tell him my potato ornament IS NOT THAT FUNNY!!

P.S. Next time, he says he will demonstrate how to cut an apple for a star stamp.