By Jen Sieve-Hicks
Buffalo Bulletin, Buffalo, Wyoming
I remember walking through my grandma Loretta Spartz’s house as a small child counting the number of Christmas trees she’d managed to decorate that year. Each year there was the traditional, large tree that occupied the living room. Then there was an angel tree, tucked into the corner in the living room. In the basement, there was a “kids’ tree,” so named because the kids ate Christmas dinner at tables set up in the basement. For a few years there was a Santa Claus tree in the front entry. For a number of years there was a shell tree, decorated entirely of seashells, in the dining room. And some years there would be a small tree on the second-floor landing.
Grandma loved Christmas and everything about it. All year long, she was on the hunt for more and better Christmas decorations, combing Saturday garage sales for the bits and pieces that would become the next centerpiece or lawn display. She spent weeks decorating her home and making it sparkle. Then came days of making special treats—she made the most delicious homemade caramels at Christmastime—for family and friends who were sure to stop in just to see that year’s Christmas décor. For decades her home was known around Adrian as the Christmas House because it was completely decorated, inside and out.
To read the rest of this article – pick up a copy of this weeks Nobles County Review or subscribe to our e-edition at http://eedition.noblescountyreview.net.
