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Health & Fitness

Sleigh Bells Ringing at Harmony in the House

            As a child I would wander down the lane at my grandparent’s place in Ashley, Ohio and there, just east of the sheep barn, south of the bee hives was the old sleigh. I can’t find any pictures of, just the tired images in my mind of a decaying sleigh that was drawn by two horses. I was told the stories of my grandfather hitching up the team and riding through town on snowy nights and days. He would transport anyone from the family or friends that wanted to ride. He had 2, 4 feet, 15 bells harnesses that hung loosely around the necks of the horses. How I wished I could have ridden with him and heard the sounds of those bells. But, by the time I came along, the sled was surrounded by bull thistle and teasel, the horses long gone, my grandfather old beyond his years from farming and surviving the depression. So, it was not to be. However, I have the bells and they are beautiful to look at on the original harnesses and to shake and to remind me that we are still connected.
       My father often told me that the reason we never got our tree until late was because they never got theirs until Christmas Eve. My grandfather would hitch up a team, or later the old Ford, and he and my father would travel across town to Grove Street. This was still an undeveloped part of town and there was a woods at the south end of the street. (In my time my Aunt Marjorie, my father’s cousins Ed McCurdy, and Renz Dart , married a McCurdy, all lived on this end of Grove Street). Anyway, off they would go, axe on board and into the woods under cover of darkness. Why undercover of darkness? Well, as my dad would tell the story granddad did not like to pay for a tree when they were everywhere for free so he would take dad and they would wander into the woods and help themselves. As for my father, well, he was a Kroger manager and he would wait until the people selling the trees at his store were ready to close them out and he would snatch them up…he didn’t see any need to unnecessarily spend money on a tree that “…was already dead anyway”.  He used my grandfather as his excuse for his parsimony and we had our share of Charlie Brown trees over the years.

     But this year, come to the Bottlebrush Gallery and see Christmas By the Creek MJ has put together consisting of her beautifully decorated trees, handmade wreaths, vintage and collectible ornaments, and share in the wonderful buffet from McGinnis Sisters (this time I spelt it from the web site, not the bottle I was holding) and Stohr Haus Bakery. We’ll meet you half way on the cost of the buffet as our thanks to you. Maybe I’ll bring out the sleigh bells.


The Early Mays

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Saturday 7th December 2013

Buffet 6:00 PM

Find out what's happening in Cranberrywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Show 7:30 PM
 Tickets: $20 for the show/ buffet

$10.00 show only

Call or email for more information   

724.452.0539 or

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