I’ll be taking a blogging break for the holidays, so I’ll leave you with this gift (that I first posted three years ago) from Alice Paak (Richard) DeKorn to one of her children, possibly her daughter Cora, my great-grandmother. What a family and genealogy treasure–now 109 years old.
1907
Merry Xmas
from
MOTHER
In case you’re wondering about the use of the word “Xmas” instead of “Christmas,” this is what Wikipedia has to say:
There is a common belief that the word Xmas stems from a secular attempt to remove the religious tradition from Christmas by taking the “Christ” out of “Christmas”, but its use dates back to the 16th century.
I’m sure that this was just a way to fit it all on the tiny shell. What a lot of work to paint and letter this shell. I wonder if she made three, one for each of her children.
The Family Kalamazoo 