It's the most wonderful time of the year

Santa Claus & Me

Hello friends and cousins! As we head in to the holiday season I though I'd kick the month off with this - my one and only photo with Santa. I guess Mom decided one bout of that childhood trauma was sufficient.

My mug shot with Santa, Christmas 1961.
I still have that rabbit. We both survived the encounter.

This photo makes an appearance on the mantel every Christmas. I think it's awesome, and kind of funny. The numbers in front make it look like Santa's holding me up for a mug shot. Honest, I didn't steal that bunny! I also love the look on Santa's face. Stoic. Resigned. Hoping I don't yank off the beard. Wishing for the end of his shift so he can get a drink.

Despite our rocky start, I'm totally into Santa. I saw him and Mrs. Clause driving through my very town last year around this time in a sporty little SUV. They were rocking the red suits and fur trim! So, yeah I'm a believer.

Wishing you a great December, no matter what winter holidays you do or don't celebrate.

First Day of School

Off to Bender Academy!

Me, Steven?, and Heidi Lenartowicz on the first day of school
at Bender Academy in Elizabeth.
Collection of E. Ackermann, 2017.

And don't we look just thrilled? That's me on the left, with the up-flip. I remember my mother making me sleep in rollers for this "special" day. Torture! The curls may have lasted until I got to school. Not much longer than that though. My hair never would hold a curl. The boy in the middle is, I think, named Steven. I don't remember if he was in my class or not. He lived at the end of the block next to Warinanco Park. The other girl is Heidi Lenartowicz. She was a year younger than me.

This was the first day of either first or second grade for me. There were at least four or five kids on the block who went to Bender Academy in Elizabeth. Our parents took turns driving us.

I can beat that

Afternoon, Winter, Grandma and Grandpa's House

Me, early 1960's,
cooking up something good at Grandma & Grandpa's house.

Oh, that eggbeater. Did there ever exist a more fun kitchen utensil for a child? Some of you may be too young to remember eggbeaters, with their turning gears and whirling beater parts, and the cool sound they made.

Here is my Grandpa Dixon's recipe for "Egg Nog," which is probably what I'm in the process of making here.

• 1 egg - raw
• milk - enough to fill the glass
• vanilla - a teaspoon
• sugar - as much as it takes

Beat until frothy or until you get tired. Drink happily.

Yes, we ate raw eggs back then. I don't know anyone who ever got sick from it. And, I might add, it was pretty darned yummy.

This photo was taken in the early 1960's in my Dixon grandparents' kitchen. I loved that wallpaper! Still do. I know this was taken in the afternoon because the sun is shining in the front window, which faced pretty much due west, if I recall correctly.

Wallace B. Dixon : Patent Holder

Cover page of Letters Patent granted to
Wallace B. Dixon in 1963.
Collection of E. Ackermann, 2017

In 1963 my grandfather, Wallace B. Dixon, was awarded a patent for a toy camera(1). He was quite proud of this achievement.

A search on Google recreates the text and images presented here. It also lists later patents that referenced my grandfather's, including two from Fisher Price Toys, and one from Mattel, Inc.(2)

The attorney who helped my Grandpa with his patent filing was Richard L. Cannaday. They became lifelong friends. I remember going to visit Mr. Cannaday in his office, and seeing him at my grandparents' home. He was a very nice man. I think he was responsible for Gramps getting an annual holiday delivery of giant Hersey chocolate bars, and other treats.

My grandfather did some work for Mr. Cannaday, restoring and repairing antique firearms. It gave him an excuse to buy a lathe for his basement workshop.  Mr. Cannaday also had Gramps help out with other patent work. He built a model of an apparatus for "rocking a human being," a patent later granted to Mary V. Neal. (3) [My baby doll stood in for the person in the scale model.]

The camera patent was never sold, and the toy was never produced. But I think my grandfather was satisfied with his achievment.

The Letters Patent

You can click on any image here, as well as the one above, to enlarge it.

Sources

(1) Letters Patent No. 3,090,158 for Toy Camera, United States Patent Office; Dixon Family Collection; privately held by Elizabeth Ackermann, [address for private use], 2017. Original certificate and documentation, with drawings, for U.S. Patent granted 21 May 1963.

(2) Google Patents (https://www.google.com/patents/US3090158 : accessed 10 January 2016), transcription of patent by W.B. Dixon, with images.

(3) Richard Cannaday to Wallace B. Dixon, 5 March 1966, Letter File Box, 2 page letter; reference firearm repair, Mary Neal [inventor], privately held by Elizabeth Ackermann, [address for private use], 2017.

May Day Memories

May Day festivities in 1907 - well before my time!
By Leet Brothers (Washington, D.C.) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

 With the start of gardening season I seem to be falling behind on the blog. I thought I'd just post a quick memory of May Day from my childhood. [The photo above is not from my childhood. I'm not that old! I just thought it was a charming picture.]

As I recall, each year around the first of May, the students at Bender Academy in Elizabeth were encouraged to bring in flowers to put around the statue of the Virgin Mary. There is an interesting article on Wikipedia about May Devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. I don't recall any special songs or prayers, like those mentioned in the article, but it was a long time ago...

Either way, with the onset of spring blooms I was sent off to school with a bouquet of spring flowers and pussy willows from my Grandpa Dixon's garden. My memory is that it offered a rare occasion to enter the Nun's area of the school, where children were not regularly allowed. There was a small chapel there, and we flower-bearers trooped in to place our flowers around the statue of Mary.

It was very quiet in that part of the building. And I remember, vaguely, that it smelled like church. If you're Catholic, you probably know just what I mean.

That's it for May Day this year! I hope it's very Spring-y wherever you are, dear reader.