Arlene, Joan, Mary & Wagon Spring 1930
LITTLE RED WAGONS BRING BACK FOND HOLIDAY MEMORIES
by Tom Jennings
For 50 Plus Lifestyles November 2004
For Mary M. Ellis, it was a wonderful life, particularly when, at age 9, Santa Claus paid an unannounced, if somewhat noisy, never-to-be forgotten visit to her and her sisters. It happened on a farm near Homer, IL, one long, crisp, cold but very clear December 24 night into day.
"I remember looking out the window and seeing stars in the sky....then quickly tucking my head under the covers so Santa wouldn't see me," says Mary.
When the trio of tots went to bed that eve, visions of sugar plums and scarlet carts danced o'er their beds. Mary and her younger Sister, who shared the same bed, donned the appropriately snug flannel pajamas (they may have been red). The baby of the family, just 8 months old, sported a nightgown and slept in a baby bed. they all shared the same room.
"We didn't have the luxury of our own rooms with bath and bushels of toys as kids do nowadays," she says.
Then..........Well, let's let Mary tell the tale in her own words.
"My sisters and I had gone to bed and were anxiously awaiting Santa. three excited little girls could not sleep because of the excitement," Mary recalls with fondness. "Suddenly the sound of sleigh bells was heard." That was outside the farmhouse. Inside, not a peep but the chest-pounding heart beats of the threesome.
"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed. "It must be Santa, and if he found us awake, he would not leave us toys." The children quickly, instinctively, formed a course of action. "We pretended to sleep...and finally did sleep."
Early the next morning, the giggling girls couldn't stand it any longer. They were up at dawn to see what Santa had brought them. Would the jolly elf go that extta mile for them, or would reality intrude and leave them disappointed? In those Depression days, toys were hard to come by and getting something like that was almost unheard of.
"We were farm people and always had plenty to eat and to keep us warm but not many frivolous things," Mary explains. "There were our socks, full of an orange and nuts and other little gifts, but the grandest was the little red wagon. We had wanted a wagon, and there it was," she says.
Mary alone, did not hog the crimson four-wheeler; she was brought up better than that. Her first thought was to share her joy and chauffeuring skills with her siblings. "on Christmas Day, I could pull that wagon with my little sisters riding along in their warm snowsuits," says Mary. The ever-challenging Midwestern winter weather did not deter the intrepid three amigas, as fortune and a snowstorm smiled upon them the very next week. From then on, I think I pulled my little sisters many miles in that red wagon." states Mary.
For every prepubescent boy and girl who grew up in America during much of the 20th century, the aptly named Little Red Wagon signified countless voyages into the land of fairy tales and sugar plum fairies. "Their beauty, simplicity and standards of safety become magical qualities that nurture the wonder of childhood and bring imaginations to life. Radio Flyer wagons are truly icons of Americana." During the 1930's, Radio Flyer's exhibit at the Chicago World's Fair made Radio Flyer world famous. By the '50s. Radio flyer began to design specialty wagons inspired by popular movies and TV shows of the time, such as the Mickey Mouse Club and Davy Crockett. Today, the company, ever expanding its product line, still lives and continues to breath life into the imaginations of children and adults alike.
From October 1979 through March 1992, Mary and her Late husband, Dale, were Barefoot Bay, FL homeowners, living in the Bird Section at that time, reports the busy senior. "My years in Barefoot Bay were very enjoyable. We did love it there. Vero Beach was my favorite town, and we spent many Saturdays there shopping on Ocean Drive out along the beach," Mary recalls. An artist of some renown, Mary who belonged to both the Barefoot Bay Art Guild and the Sebastian Art Club, reminds, "I'm sure there are many around Vero Beach with one of my paintings."
To this day she stays quite active. "I feel fortunate to have good health. Maybe it was that Florida sunshine while living in Barefoot Bay," she says. Constantly on the go, Mary, on the original committee that helped form the Barefoot Bay Spinners club, continues to keep up the pace in Urbana-Champaign, IL. where she used to be employed by the University of Illinois, as was her husband. She was secretary to Head of Department of Food Science, and Dale was a Printing Pressman and Offset Plate-maker with the University Print Shop.
They raised three sons, Steve, Mark and Roger, and they all have wives and families.
"Oh yes, I never grew tired of the red wagon, and we had it for many years," Mary, now 82, says. Credit for the wonderful, still farm-fresh memories goes to her parents, a.k.a., Santa and Mrs. Claus. "My parents were great people, and I'm sure their hearts swelled with pride when they dug up enough money to buy that little Red Wagon and found that we kids were so happy," says Mary.
"In later years we realized that sound of sleigh bells was our Dad, running through the yard with the old bells they used years ago on their sleigh,". "they had always hung on a nail in our barn. What a wonderful thing that Dad decided to use them that night. It is a Christmas I will never forget."
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