Christmas Memory

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David Goss is a member of that most valuable class: the local historian. His chronicles of life in New Brunswick, especially at Christmas time, preserve important memories that might otherwise be lost. Here he presents a seasonal tale from his childhood.

I am sure everyone, at every age, enjoys a tour of the Christmas lights that people put up around Saint John. Over the years have conducted bus coach tours so people who aren’t too mobile can sit back and take in the sometimes “over the top” electric displays our city has to offer. This year, with a knee that has gone wonky, have had some sitting and thinking time on this subject.

Among my memories I share with you here is the first time I saw Saint John lit up for Christmas. think it was 1953 – two years after festive lighting was first put up to adorn the route Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip took from Union Station to the Admiral Beatty Hotel. Bright red bulbs were strung between every power pole along Dock Street to King Street then up King Street and around King’s Square. They were such a hit, the Merchant’s Association asked they be left up for the seasonal shoppers to enjoy and every year since Saint John Energy has continued the tradition as a gift to the city.

With the birth of my little sister Barbara my darling mother was often overwhelmed at taking care of the now four of us. One solution was the suggestion that my brothers and I would be sent out once a week to catch dad’s last east-west city bus trip of the day. We would board on St. John Street and be relegated to the back seat – and told to behave. If there were standing passengers we were to offer them our seats. Most of the passengers would get off the bus before we reached the foot of King Street. At this point dad would invite us to come up to the front of the bus where we would have the best view. It was from this vantage point., my brothers and first saw all those beautiful red light bulbs.

As we drove up King Street dad pointed out the MRA Department Store in the first block and told us that was where we would be able to see Santa Claus when we all came Uptown to do our Christmas shopping. In the second block we were told that the Zellers had an escalator. The only one in Saint John! We were soon to find out that elevator led straight to childhood heaven Toyland. At the head of King Street, dad would amaze us tikes by appearing to start through the intersection while the light was still red. Miraculously it would turn green just as the wheels started rolling. How did he always know? Later, when we were learning to drive he revealed the trick behind this magical act. By watching the light turn orange in the other direction he knew exactly when to jump on the throttle.

Also at the head of King Street he would point out the decorations strung around the perimeter of King’s Square, the Christmas tree vendors and one special Christmas tree beautifully lit up. At that point, as he knew there were no more light displays or attractions to see, my brothers and I would be sent back to our back seats as the bus would now fill up with passengers and clerks heading to their homes in east Saint John.

At least once, dad was able to stop long enough at England’s Smoke Shop on the south side of Haymarket Square to buy a cup of his famous root beer, which dad always told us Mr. England made himself and stored it in an under-the-floor vat. He wasn’t pulling our leg that time, as he often did, because when was student painting the transit company’s bus stop banners on poles in the summer of 1959, that was where Jimmy Goudy introduced me to coffee. I thought it was a vile drink at the time, but I recalled dad’s root beer story and asked for some instead. Sure enough, behind the glass counter filled with candy and tobacco products there appeared an under-floor vat from which Mr. England produced the tasty beverage. I visited often after that, and would do so again, but all that is left of that magical Christmas light tour and England’s home-made root beer are the good memories.
 

 

 

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