Christmas Memory

One of my fondest memory is of 1960 one of the last Christmases with a strong downtown Kansas City now they are in malls. The streets were decorated with festive lighted garlands and the stores stayed open until nine. Ray and I took our five children, Steve, Susan, Sally, Cindy and Scott dressed in their best Sunday outfits to see the sights. We had supper at the Forum cafeteria on Main Street so each could find something they liked and we could get a full meal as parents Then we started the walking tour, stopping first at the Jones Store on the corner of 12th and Main, where there was a Santa wonderland with a train carrying children and adults alike thru snowmen, frolicking elves, reindeer and other sites. Then it was on to Klines to see the fairy princess, a beautiful young woman dressed in a gorgeous princess gown and crown with a magic wand. For a small fee each the children could line up in front of her thrown, sit on her knee and tell her what they wanted for Christmas. At the end she would wave her wand
and a brightly covered gift would appear beside her throne as if by sorcery. It would contain a coloring book, a tin whistle, a spinning top or some trinket. From there we went we made our way thru the crowded streets to Emery Bird Thayer the department store on Walnut Street, Eleventh and Grand. There two giant inflated figures of Santa and Mrs. Claus shook and rolled like a bowl of jelly with recorded laughter. A smaller Santa was handing out trinkets. Then down to Harzfields to see the animated figures. A woman stepped to us and wished us a "Merry Christmas" and handed us a box of Russell Stover Candy. The kids wanted the candy right away but we wanted to check out first. Fortunately for newer generations, Hallmark brought the inflated Santa and put Santa on display. The Fairy princess went to the KC Museum for a couple of weeks in December.