Yes, the years from 1930 to 1934 were our last years as a family, and even though the rest of the country was in the throes of a terrible deparession, it did not affect us. We lived as comfortably as ever. Mother continued with her lavish Christmases - with a twelve foot Christmas tree and a huge roast goose every year - plus a living room full of toys. In 1931, I was given a doll house that became the talk of the neighborhood as all the neighbors trooped in to see it. It was furnished in handmade furniture from England. Irving got a large Lionel train that ran all around the tree, through tunnels, over hills and dales with little houses and a railroad Station. All toys in 1931 were made of wood or metal. Plastic was a material in the far distant future. Martha got her own roll-top desk and Helen received a wicker doll buggy with a brand new Eff and Bee baby doll. Uncle Edward's boxes from Scotland continued to add so much joy to our Christmas celebration. He made a point of getting all our sizes in advance and this was the year he sent Campbell a Harris Tweed jacket that he wore for twenty years. Martha and Helen and I all received pleated skirts in the Stewart tartan and this was the year that he sent Irving a Pennywhistle like the ones used in Highland bands - it drove us all crazy as Irv learned to play it, and he did!
Campbell would sit in his red chair listening to all the exclamations of joy as we looked at our gifts. He was no doubt remembering Christmases in Scotland as a boy when his grandfather would give him a Bible and his mother would give him a new fishing pole. It was the year 1931 that we were listening to an account of a parade being broadcast from New York and a band of pipers passed playing Scotland Forever on their bagpipes. I looked over at father, and the tears were streaming silently down his face.
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