Click Here to Return To Milestones --Volume 12 Number 4 - Winter 1987
Christmas in Beaver County was celebrated with large family gatherings during the 1750s. Reunions were held with large turkey dinners greeting the visiting relatives.
It wasn't until the 1760s when the Germans began coming to Beaver County that the Christmas tree was introduced locally. Then began the decorating of homes and stores for the holiday.
The giving and receiving of presents was largely confined to children and the teacher of the local school. Pupils, with approval from parents and school directors, were permitted to nail the doors and windows fast if the teacher did not distribute presents.
It was considered a privilege and the right of the student to lock the teacher out of the schoolroom the day before Christmas unless he distributed similar gifts among the students. They would keep him out until a promise was obtained to obey the custom on the following school day. There was no long holiday vacation for the children. The only day they were excused from the classroom was Christmas Day.
In the early 1800s, it was a custom of the children to run from house to house early on Christmas morning. When the youngsters inside answered the knock, they tried to shout "Christmas gift" before those outside could utter the same, for whoever said it first was entitled to a small present.
Christmas carols were sung in the streets by the children. The local grocer anticipated visits from the youngsters and was prepared accordingly. Gifts were usually candy, cookies or apples.
Travel from home to grandmother's for the annual Christmas dinner was by sleigh or horseback for distances too long to walk. If there were a number of people to be transported, a bobsled or perhaps more frequently, an old fashioned "jumper" with wooden runners was called into use. This was bedded with straw, and the family traveled comfortably amid robes, blankets and comforters. Heated bricks or flatirons for the feet were used on extremely cold days, so that a red-cheeked, warm and happy party arrived to be met by Grandma herself.
The men of the communities gathered a few days before Christmas to compete in turkey shoots. One of the popular local shooting ranges was in Fallston upon ground now covered by the Pennsylvania and Lake Erie Railroad along a street called Back Street. The street lay parallel to the Beaver River and extended southward from the concrete road at the foot of Quaker Hill to what used to be called Baker's Eddy.
There formerly existed in the Beaver River, just north of the eastern half of the Eastvale Bridge, a rather large island. It was known as Stumpy Island for many years before it disappeared.
The island attracted large numbers of geese and ducks, which made their home there and on the shores of the Beaver River. But just before the Christmas holidays, the island became the mecca for the men of the town. Armed with rifles or fowling pieces, they headed for Stumpy Island, certain to return with a goose or duck to grace the holiday table.
Fallston's annual event, before the Civil War drew away its young men, was the Community Dance. It was always held on Christmas Eve. Great preparations were made for the dance. They were so successful and so enjoyable that those who did the extraordinary amount of labor necessary always felt sufficiently repaid for their trouble.
Since Fallston did not have a large hall suitable for such a party, the "hop" was held in one of the large rooms of a factory or mill.
After permission was secured to use one of the factory rooms, the hard work began. The day's labor started for several men by moving the heavy machines to one side of the room. There were also plenty of other volunteers who did their self-imposed tasks with enthusiasm. There was no social line drawn between employer and employee so both attended the party.