The Peddle family of Bell Island have a treasured keepsake from Christmases past that reminds them of what the season is all about.
“As far back as I can remember, we had this little Santa face that was a big part of our Christmas tradition. As soon as my dad hung it on the wall, we all seemed to get a little more excited for Christmas,” said Jean (Peddle) FitzPatrick, during a phone interview from her home on Bell Island.
FitzPatrick’s parents, Mary and James Peddle, had 17 children, one of whom died at age six months. Her father worked in the mines on Bell Island all his life, she said. Her mother was a homemaker. FitzPatrick is pretty sure her parents bought the Santa face at Woolworth’s on Water Street in St. John’s. It was a magical Santa, she said, that was hung on the kitchen wall until Old Christmas Day.
“When you pulled the string, Santa sang Jingle Bells. We all wanted to pull that string, but my father would say, ‘You can only pull it once.’ We couldn’t all do it at the same time. Each day we took a turn.”
As children, FitzPatrick said they couldn’t understand why their father was so protective over the Santa decoration. And children back in those days, she said, never talked back to or questioned their parents. “When Dad said we couldn’t all pull it at the same time, that was it. You might have mumbled under your breath, but you didn’t question it,” FitzPatrick said with a chuckle.
Decades later, as adults, FitzPatrick said she and her siblings realized buying the decoration was likely a luxury for their parents.
“With that many kids, you were lucky to get a few candy and a few grapes in your stocking, let alone have a Santa hung on the wall. That was just amazing when we got it,” she said. FitzPatrick’s parents have both since passed away, but the tradition continues. They left the singing Santa to their daughter, Betty (Peddle) Ryan.
Ryan lives in Nova Scotia and hangs the Santa wherever she is when celebrating the holidays.
She came home to Bell Island for Christmas several years ago and, to her siblings’ delight, brought with her the special family heirloom.
“Betty came walking down the stairs and she pulled the string. A few of my brothers were here, too. We were in the kitchen. When we heard the song, we just looked at each other. There was almost silence because we all had a million memories running through our heads.” FitzPatrick remains ever grateful that her father was so particular with the treasured keepsake. “Santa still sings Jingle Bells and I’m so glad that Dad was so strict with it,” she said.
This content originally appeared in YULETIDE PREPARATIONS, a SaltWire custom publishing title.
