I wrote the following story about Hessie some years ago. I have rewritten it, and added “Other memories.” Merry Christmas
I remember my first grade teacher Mrs. Hammond at Chester Elementary School telling us kids that Santa Claus was known to make practice runs before Christmas. She suggested we go out on the playground. Perhaps we could find evidence that Santa had landed his sleigh on the playground.
Sure enough, we found sleigh tracks in the freshly fallen snow. You can imagine our excitement as Mrs. Hammond led us around the playground. It was exciting!
Years later, I learned Clair ‘Hessie’ Hesselton was the individual responsible for creating the sleigh tracks. Hessie had borrowed a sleigh from Mrs. Kelly at Buttonwood Farm. He came down to the school the night before and pulled the sleigh around the playground, leaving sleigh tracks for us to follow.
A couple years later, and after I knew about Santa, Christmas was still exciting for me. I really wanted a Christmas tree. My father told me he’d pick one up on his way home from work some night. For several nights when my father returned from work, I would run out to greet him. “Dad, did you get a Christmas tree?” “No,” he’d say, “I’ll get one soon.”
One day after elementary school, I walked over to Depot Street where I had seen trees for sale. I didn’t have much money but I really wanted a tree.
The man selling the trees was busy with other customers, so I looked the trees over. They were $1.50 – $2.50 each. I only had 75 cents in change. Finally, the man came over and asked if he could help me. I told him I wanted to buy a tree. “And what tree would you like?” he asked. I told him I didn’t have enough money and reached in my pocket to show him my change.
He told me to pick out a tree I liked, and we could make a deal. I picked out a tree and he took my 75 cents.
I dragged the tree down to Main Street, then onto School Street, across the footbridge to High Street, and up to where I lived.
By the time I got the tree home, there were no needles left on the side that had been dragged. My mother put the bald side facing a corner in our living room. We strung popcorn and made artificial snow. We used Tide laundry powder mixed with a little water to make a paste. This we spread on tips of branches. It looked like snow. I thought the tree beautiful.
The man who sold me the tree was Hessie. He was selling trees on his front lawn for the Chester Fire Department.
In 2005, Hessie received the Town Citizenship Award for 50 years of service to the town. He had been a selectman, special constable, lister, zoning board member, fireman, and more.
I thank Hessie for the great memories he left a young boy.
Other memories
When I was a boy, my folks would take us for a ride after supper, to see all the Christmas lights and decorations around town. Brian, Cheryl, and I rode in the back seat of a 1956 Ford. Dad drove slow, maybe even pulling over now and then, so we could get a good look. Ma would say, “Isn’t that tree beautiful decorated in just blue lights. Oh Arn, let’s do that next year.”
Thursday night in Springfield was the place to do your Christmas shopping; well, there and the Sears and Roebuck catalog. For downtown shoppers, Springfield had W.T. Grant, J.J. Newberry’s, Furman’s, Paul’s Economy, and Wilson Jewelers. Britts came to the new plaza in 1963.
Springfield was a prosperous town in those days. They had the machine shops employing a couple thousand men. Springfield businesses thrived in those days. Springfield’s Christmas decorations were far better than Chester’s. It was a sight to see the square alive with lights and people. It seemed like a metropolis to me.
This week’s old saying: “Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat…”