Whenever I think about Christmases in Roscoe back when I was a kid, I remember several things, some of which have changed over the years. There are many aspects of Christmas that could be talked about (visiting relatives, church, Christmas Dinner, etc.), but I’ll confine this discussion to just the Christmas tree itself and the gifts under it.
In my entire childhood, we never bought a Christmas tree. Instead, four or five days before Christmas, my daddy would ask my brothers and me if we were ready to go out and get one. We’d jump in the car and head out to the ranch country south of town, where we drove around looking for a suitable cedar tree that had a pleasing shape and was the right size for our living room. When we spotted one that we thought was perfect, we’d get out and Daddy would saw it down with his handsaw.
Then, we’d bring it back home where Daddy would get a couple of one by four pieces of wood about a foot long and nail them in an X shape to the bottom of the tree. By this time my mother would have gotten out all the Christmas decorations from a box in one of the closets. She’d put a cloth skirt around the bottom of the tree, and that evening after supper, we’d begin the decorations. We kids would cut out strips of colored paper and glue them together in a ring shape and make paper chains that we hung around the tree. We also made strings of popcorn by getting needle and thread and stringing them together one after the other. We also decorated the tree with long strings of chinaberry seeds. The seeds were star-shaped if you looked at them from the top and had holes through their centers, which made them perfect for stringing. My mother would dye them different colors by cooking them in a pot with food coloring. We also had other homemade tree decorations--Indian eyes of God, snowflakes, and so on. There were also some store-bought lights and ornaments that were used from one year to the next, along with the thin aluminum strips that were supposed to be icicles.
Then gifts were put under the tree, which we kids would pick up and shake in an attempt to determine what they were. We tried to do this when our mother was busy with something else, because if she caught us doing it, she’d make us quit and run us out of the living room.
On Christmas Eve, right after supper, we’d go in and open all the gifts we’d received from one another and from relatives. But the best gift of all was always the one that Santa brought, and we didn’t find out what that one was until Christmas morning. We kids would try to sleep lightly that night in hopes of seeing Santa, but somehow we never managed to stay awake long enough to do it. We knew he’d been there, though, because the snack we’d left him would be eaten, and the hung stockings were full of nuts, fruit, and peppermint candy canes. And of course there would be that grand gift under the tree. It might be a BB gun or a bicycle or an electric football game. But whatever it was, it usually took up all our attention for the rest of the day.
In short, some of the traditions of family Christmases are just as they’ve always been while others have changed, sometimes drastically. But for a kid it’s still one of the most—if not the most—special time of the year, and that is unlikely ever to change.
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PLOWBOYS PLACE FOUR ON ALL-DISTRICT FIRST TEAM
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| Shelton Toliver (10) made All-District as a wide receiver. |
Max Nemir was named as one of the district’s two defensive newcomers of the year.
Rafael Aguayo and Jesus Leanos made the second team on both offense and defense. Aguayo made it as a receiver and inside linebacker, Leanos as a receiver and cornerback. Zack Longoria made honorable mention as a defensive tackle.
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ROSCOE FFA HOLDS ANNUAL STOCK SHOW
A good crowd was on hand Saturday at the Ag Barn to witness the 2013 Roscoe FFA Stock Show. Both elementary and high school students showed off their animals to the judges and many came away winners.
The final results are as follows:
Heifers
Grand Champion – Jaci Alexander
Reserve Champion – Jaden Alexander
Steers
Grand Champion – Kristen Johns (Charolais)
Reserve Champion – Kamren Fisher (Cross)
Junior Showmanship Award – Kristen Johns
Sheep
Fine Wool Champion – Ty Fullwood (Heavy Weight)
Fine Wool Reserve Champion – Dillon Freeman (Light Weight)
Fine Wool Cross Champion – Kristen Johns
Fine Wool Cross Reserve – Kristen Johns
Black Champion – Ty Fullwood
Black Reserve Champion – Kristen Johns
Grand Champion – Ty Fullwood
Reserve Champion – Kristen Johns
Junior Showmanship Award – Kristen Johns
Senior Showmanship Award – Dillon Freeman
Goats
Light Weight – Emma Lee Pulattie
Medium Weight – Christian Diaz
Heavy Weight – Chasity Diaz
Grand Champion – Christian Diaz
Reserve Champion – Emma Lee Pulattie
Swine
Duroc Champion – Dillon Freeman
Duroc Reserve – John Ruben Herrera
Hampshire Champion – Kaylee Palacios
Hampshire Reserve – Max Nemir
White OPB Champion – Justin Herrera
White OPB Reserve – Tagen Adkins
Black OPB Champion – Tucker Adkins
Black OPB Reserve – Hunter Anglin
Cross Champion – Justin Herrera
Cross Reserve – Hunter Anglin
Swine Grand Champion - Justin Herrera
Swine Reserve Champion - Kaylee Palacios
Junior Showmanship Award - Hunter Anglin
Senior Showmanship Award - Dillon Freeman
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PLOWBOYS AND PLOWGIRLS IN EULA TOURNAMENT THIS WEEKEND
The Plowboys and Plowgirls will both resume their basketball seasons by playing in the Eula tournament this weekend.
The Plowboys’ first opponent will be Graford at Clyde High School at 10:30am on Friday. If they win, they will play the winner of the Stamford-Comanche game at 4:30pm on Friday at the Clyde Auxiliary Gym. If they lose, they will play the loser of the Stamford-Comanche game at 3:00pm in the Clyde Auxiliary Gym. If they win their second game, they will play in the Eula Middle School Gym on Saturday.
The Plowgirls’ first game is at 10:30am on Friday with Hamlin in the Eula Middle School Gym. If they win, they’ll play the winner of the Stamford-Cisco game at 4:30pm on Friday in the Eula High School Gym. If they lose, they’ll play the loser of the Stamford-Cisco game at 3:00pm on Friday in the Eula High School Gym. If they win either of those games, they’ll play again on Saturday.
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WEATHER REPORT
There will be no white Christmas this year, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
It rained on Friday night, a little more west of town than in Roscoe itself. Roscoe weatherman Kenny Landfried recorded a total of .55” at his weather station on the east side of town. It was enough to leave puddles in the streets all over town.
Other than that rain, though, the rest of the week has been pretty normal for this time of year. Skies were sunny or partly cloudy, and highs were in the fifties except for Sunday, when it got up only to 42°F. Lows were in the upper twenties or the thirties.
The forecast is for more of the same through the weekend. The high temperature today should be only around 48°, but temperatures will be slightly warmer through the weekend with highs in the upper fifties and lows in the low to mid thirties.
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