Christmas Nostalgia in Christmases Past

This small anthology contains three nostalgic stories.

             My co-workers all loved Christmas 1951.

 Young Molly Murphy is Christmas shopping downtown with her mother when a pushy man causes her to fall. A gentleman stumbles over her and then helps her gather her packages. He offers Mrs. Murphy and Molly a ride home but they decline, however, it begins to snow. It's another sad Christmas for Mrs. Murphy and er daughter after the loss of Danny Murphy in a refinery accident. The kind Mr. ranger spots them sitting on the bench at the bus stop and again offers them a lift. This time, Mrs. Murphy accepts for Molly's sake. There is no tree in their apartment. The decorations are faded, old, and chipped. They can't afford new decorations. Money is tight. As Christmas approaches, Mrs. Murphy and Molly begin to receive some surprises delivered to their door, and then an unexpected guest, Mr. ranger who's passing by on his way home from visiting his sister and stopped by. Christmas is special this magical year for Mrs. Murphy and Molly, thanks to the good heart and kindness of a stranger who has become a friend.

Christmas 1952 revisits Mrs. Murphy and Molly. Mr. Granger has been courting Mrs. Murphy but he's away on business as Christmas approaches. Molly misunderstands something she overhears, a part of a conversation between her mother and another woman, and comes to believe she is standing in the way of her mother's happiness with Mr. Granger, so she decides to run away so her mother will be free to marry Jack Granger and he won't have to worry about inheriting another man's daughter in the bargain. Molly is beginning to grow up, but she's still a young girl who needs a friend. A teddy bear in the neighborhood store is the repository of all her secrets. The misunderstanding leads to worry, fears, and a tearful reunion.

In Paper Chans, set during the Great Depression, a close knit family struggles with unemployment, sickness, and the prospects of an unhappy Christmas. Middle child Caroline is trying to hold her family together while her father is aware looking for work, her mother is ill, her older sister and older brother are busy trying to earn money they desperately need and put food on the table, and she has her younger siblings to watch out for. It's the story of a family being torn apart by the destitution of the Depression, but drawn together by love and faith and the friendships they've established in the community.