I had just turned 10 and would spend this Christmas in our new house on Jennings Street in Beckley, WV. I had made a Little League team that year, loved my Fourth-Grade teacher and Freddie Arnold had just moved in just down the street. I now had a built-in baseball, football, and basketball buddy. Life was good.
As Christmas approached, there was one thing I really wanted – an English bike. My old J.C. Higgins bike was still functional but pumping that thing up the steep hill in front of our house was a real work out. As I recall, English bikes with gears and hand brakes were about fifty bucks, which was a mountain of money in the fifties – like $300 or $400 today. I figured if I could stash away a dollar a week, I could buy one in a year. Fat chance, though. My allowance was a quarter.
I had finished my Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve. I went to Al Cohen’s Pawn Shop and Woolworth’s Five and Dime and got it all done. Mr. Cohen, a family friend, had lots of cool stuff and the dime store had table after table of inexpensive toys, jewelry, knick-knacks, and clothing – most anything you wanted. My five-dollar bill covered all the costs. I wrapped the presents as best I could and awaited the big day.
Our family celebrated Christmas with a live tree hovering over a pile of wrapped presents, but Santa came down the chimney on Christmas Eve with unwrapped presents and put them at their designated spots, be it a chair or sofa. I knew, of course, that Mom and Dad were the real Santa’s, but I never let on for fear that Santa would put me on his naughty list, and I’d get nothing. Besides, my younger siblings, Pat and Johanna, still believed.
The next morning, we were up at first light and bounded into the living room to check out our stash. I got a new Voit basketball! This was a major deal. The spiffy ball was full of air and actually bounced, plus it still had all its pebbles on the outside, unlike the threadbare ball I had at the time. And I got a new Bulova wristwatch. Now I would know what time to come home for the Groucho Marx show. It was a wonderful Christmas for everyone.
As the last present was unwrapped and Pat and Jo were playing with each and every toy, Daddy said there was one more present. It was stuck over in the corner behind the sofa.
What! A new Schwinn English bike! I was shocked and thrilled. It wasn’t snowing that morning, so I threw on some warm clothes, took my bike out the front door and raced up and down the streets. With third gear, the hill in front of our house was no problem.
What a Christmas. What memories. What a wonderful place and time it was in Beckley, WV.
