Today, Christmastime in Irvington is an early December Friday evening of local holiday shopping, picking out a tree at the Methodist Church lot, and Luminaria open houses before families and friends gather around the Christmas tree in homes to exchange presents all the while keeping in mind the idyllic image of the holiday cartoonist Thomas Nast depicted – Santa Claus, cherubic children, a warm fireplace with stockings hung and presents scattered about.
Earlier days saw Irvingtonians exchanging homemade gifts of sewing and knitting, cloth dolls, tin soldiers, drums, and horns carefully wrapped and placed under a tree lighted with tiny candles, trimmed with gold foil balls, strings of popcorn and cranberries, and topped with a silver paper star. In later times, holiday shoppers bundled up against the cold and boarded the streetcar for downtown to seek out “Fancy Goods for the Holiday Trade” at L S Ayres & Co, H P Wasson & Co, and Wm H Block Co, along with smaller retailers. The stores decorated with hanging wreaths of evergreen and holly, and brightly lit Christmas trees warmly greeted shoppers while warmly clad children pressed their faces against the Ayres’ windows marveling at the intricate mechanical fairyland displays.
In addition to the downtown stores, Irvington shoppers could “shop local” at the Irvington Dry Goods Co, the Irving Style Shoppe, Risley’s Department Store, Irvington’s Jeweler, Chaille Shoe Store, Irvington Importing Co, Town & Country Shop, the Irving Flower Shop, Danner Bros 5 & 10 Store, and Woolworth’s. Tandy’s Candies, Irvington Pastry, and Dirks Market were destinations for all the fixin’s for Christmas treats and feast. Christmas cards and packages were mailed from the Irvington Post Office and the various women’s clubs held holiday parties. One holiday gift Irvingtonians looked forward to receiving for many years along with bath robes and pipes for men, fur-trimmed slippers for women, and plenty of candy for children was the latest Abe Martin Almanack containing the wit and wisdom of the Brown County philosopher as interpreted by Irvington’s Kin Hubbard.
From the late 1920s into the 1930s the Irvington Union of Clubs held an Irvington Art Exhibit during the Christmas season in the showroom of Dr. Silas Carr’s Ford dealership. Among the Irvington Group artists participating in the exhibit were William Forsyth, Clifton and Hilah Wheeler, Dorothy Morlan, Frederick Polley, Simon Baus, Constance Forsyth, Helene Hibben, and Robert Selby. Some Irvingtonians looked forward to receiving a coveted hand painted Christmas greeting from William Forsyth, the dean of the Irvington Group. Another Irvington tradition begun in the depths of the Great Depression and continuing for the next several decades was Handel’s “Messiah” sung by the Irvington Community Chorus at the Irvington United Methodist Church.
Sledding on Brown’s Hill and at Ellenberger Park provided happy, fun-filled moments for Irvington children between rehearsals and performances of the usual Christmas programs at the elementary schools. From time to time a community Christmas tree was set up that provided a site for a community carol sing and wreaths were hung along Washington Street. Homeowners strung a couple of strands of colorful lights around the outside of their homes and the more ambitious outdoor decorations invited streams of cars filled with wide-eyed children slowly winding through the neighborhood.
Shopping habits begin to change with the coming of the shopping mall. Slowly, the lights disappeared from the Irvington commercial district. The convenience of the mall was too alluring. The mall after all had all a shopper would want – the familiar named stores, holiday glitter, and Santa. But this too has changed with more shopping now done online. While Brown’s Hill is no more, the colorful Christmas lights are returning to a renewed Irvington shopping district. All is well. Merry Christmas.
