For a little over 10 years, my family
has traveled from far & wide to
celebrate Christmas in a very unique way...at a historic schoolhouse tucked
away in the hills of Jefferson County, Missouri. My grandfather,
“Papa Bill,” purchased some acreage in the early 1960s, which
happened to also be home to this old abandoned schoolhouse:
We're not certain when it was built,
but we know it was in existence in 1896 & was used until the
1930s when all of the rural county schools consolidated into a new public
school system. In the late 1990s, some of my relatives decided to renovate the schoolhouse so we
could still gather together at the farm in memory of Papa Bill.
Christmas at the schoolhouse is
definitely a one-of-a-kind experience. There is no cable TV, no internet, no telephone. We have electricity for lights & a
refrigerator. Uncle Pat is usually in charge of arriving early to
fire up the wood stove. By the time we all arrive, he has the place nice & toasty.
We bring dinner, desserts & of
course lots of silly gifts. It basically turns into a whole evening
of “white elephant” gift exchanging, game playing & story
telling. Many of the strange gifts get put to immediate use...
Why all the Halloween related gifts? Well, the farm was also where we had many haunted hayrides each Fall when I was a little girl. The spooky gifts remind us of those good times & allow for great photo opportunities.
Onward we will go to
the old schoolhouse to celebrate Christmas a fews days later than most of you will, but what a way to ring in the new year! I'm looking forward to taking our baby girl for her first schoolhouse visit. I hope we can continue this family tradition for years
to come.
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