Yuletide Memories
A charming poem written by a Huntley resident some 80 years ago gives a glimpse of Christmas past in our community.
Marion Lawson Voss (1896-1976) wrote the poem “Yuletide Memories” in the 1940s. Voss grew up in Huntley and recalled the thrill of Otto Schmalz’s General Store at Christmastime when she was a child in the early 1900s. The toys and decorations all captured her imagination.
Schmalz’s store was located near the intersection of Coral and Church streets at the east end of the town square. The business operated from 1894 to 1918. Voss mentions the Huntley School, which was on East Main Street, next to the First Congregational Church. It has since been torn down. It would have been just around the corner from Schmalz’s store.
To see pictures of Marion Lawson, the Schmalz family and their store, visit the display case in the Huntley Area Public Library’s Local History Department.
Yuletide Memories
Comes again the Christmas season—
Vivid memories wake once more
Of a small, mid-western village
And a place called “Schmalz’s Store.”
Brave in all its Christmas trappings,
Gaily decked with dolls and toys,
Once a year supreme attraction
For the village girls and boys.
How we hurried from the schoolhouse,
Soon as study hours were o’er,
Flocked like noisy, chattering magpies,
To the thrills of “Schmalz’s Store!”
Oh! The dolls so truly gorgeous
Satin skirted, teeth like pearls,
Sleeping eyes and flaxen tresses,
Made to torture little girls,
“Old Maid” games and ribbon candy,
Peanut brittle, balky mules,
Picture books and “Christmas mixture,”
Toy pianos, mimic tools,
Dolly buggies, cunning flat irons,
Marbles, tops and dominoes,
Everything to help old Santa
Stuff the stockings to the toes.
Candy bead strings, rainbow candles,
Fruits ne’er seen on land or sea,
Striped canes and tinsel garlands,
Glistening angels for the tree.
Ropes of green and bells of scarlet,
“Live forever”—wreaths of holly,
Nothing lacking one might wish for
To make Christmas bright and jolly.
Years have passed and time in passing
Changes brings to me and you.
Cities fall and kingdoms tumble—
The little store has vanished too—
But could anyone who knew it
Thirty years ago or more
Ever half forget the splendors
Christmas brought to “Schmalz’ Store?
By Marion Lawson Voss