Beyond the South End

The Best Christmas Present Ever

In the South End there is a long tradition of service to our country. Many of the young boys in our neighborhood and throughout the South End opted to join a branch of the service upon graduation from Rockland High School. I suspect that many went even before graduating as the alluring promise of adventure beyond the borders of the South End were too much for them to wait for.

College was not in the future for many of these boys financially and historically. These were working people for the most part and saving money for college was not possible in most cases. Therefore, the service was a good way to get some training that may be used to start some kind of career once their hitch was up. We had many who enjoyed the experience so much that they became career servicemen.

Of course this was the early 50s and the conflict in Korea was just about over. Enlistees at this time would most likely be out of the service before the Vietnam War began. It was a time of relative peace in the world and the boys in the neighborhood who wanted to “expand” their horizons beyond the old neighborhood sought out their favorite recruiting officer in the branch they were interested in as soon as they were of age.

 

My own family in the South End numbered four children at this time. We girls were much younger than our older brothers. Although we always had food on the table; a roof over our heads, shoes on our feet; and a warm Brewster suit to wear in the winter, there was not money for much else.

My brother, Harlan, therefore, looked to enlistment in the Air Force soon after he graduated in 1952. Brother Ted, two years older than Harlan, was out on his own by that time. He became exempt from serving during the Korean War because he had asthma. So my sister and I, who were still in grammar school, were the only two remaining at home on Mcloud Street.

 

Sister Sara doesn’t remember the boys being home, but I do. I missed my brother, Harlan, very much after he left. Many were the times I sat beside him when we were kids as he drew superheroes by copying them freehand from a comic book. I never became as good as he was with art, especially his watercolors. The wallpaper on this computer is his work at the age of 16.

 

Harlan wrote me many letters while he was away. I kept all of them, but over the years they have been lost in one of my many moves.

During Harlan’s basic training in the Midwest, he developed pneumonia. We were very worried about him. He ended up in the base hospital and my folks traveled out to see him. He survived his basic training and soon was given training as an airplane mechanic and was eventually based in El Paso, Texas.

 

I don’t remember the timeline for Harlan’s whole career in the Air Force, but I do know that at one time he was based on Guam Island for a period of about a year. He took some great pictures of himself and his buddies who served with him there. I’ll try to find one for you to add to this story. As a saxophone player in high school, he got to be a member of an impromptu band while serving in Guam.

 

 

 Harlan at Basic Training. As you can see, he lost quite a lot of weight while he was sick.

 

 

Harlan and his buddies on Guam

 

The Best Christmas Present Ever

Which brings me to the title of this story, “The Best Christmas Present Ever.”

As Christmas approached when I was about twelve and Sara was about seven, we began to miss our big brother, Harlan. At that time I believe he was actually serving on Guam. However, just before Christmas we heard a knock on the front door and when we opened it there he stood with a big grin on his face. There was no need for him to knock. We never locked the door in those days, but he wanted to surprise us.

 

I don’t remember if my parents knew he was coming or not, and I’m not all that sure that he was coming from Guam that Christmas or not, but what he brought with him makes me believe that he did indeed make that long journey home to be with us for Christmas.

I also think that he came to us via some kind of troop plane, then bus, and then hitched from about Boston up. He did a lot of hitch-hiking in those days. How ever he got there, it was one long long trip for him, even if he had come just from Texas.

 

He didn’t come just to see us, though. His future wife, Kay Keizer lived over in Thomaston and he would spend a lot of time with her while he was home also. But we sure did enjoy his being around again, and Sara and I were some surprised when we opened our presents from him that Christmas morning.

Inside we each reached in to discover a beautiful velvet jacket with bright embroidery on it depicting Guam. I believe it was a map of the island. I know those jackets must have cost him a month’s pay at the PX. They were beautiful, and they fit us perfectly. We were both flabbergasted. How did he know what sizes to buy? I suspect that my mother was asked via a letter from him.

 

Here we are in our jackets in the obligatory picture next to the tree that my mother always insisted on at Christmas. Pictured are older brother Ted and his wife, Nat, who were practically newlyweds then, or at least I think they were married at that time; Harlan in his uniform; mother in the background as usual; and my Dad in one of his famous bow ties. I wish this picture was larger, but it’s the only one I have of the jackets. The picture does bring back a lot of memories of those times…those happy times.

 

We were very proud of our brother. We both wore our jackets often and showed them off to our friends in the months to come after the holidays.

I have no idea what happened to those jackets. Perhaps Sara knows. I do know that it was the best Christmas present I ever got as a kid growing up in the South End. No wait…having Harlan home for Christmas was an even better present.

Merry Christmas, everyone, and thanks for listening.

Note: About Aunt May, who Sara mentions in her comment below. She was our Great-Aunt Mary Sue Emery. She was a retired Captain in the Army-Air Force Nurses Corps and she served in two World Wars. She is buried in Arlington National Cemetery and probably has one of the wreaths from the holiday wreath project on her grave today. She took care of a good many servicemen and women during her service and knew what she was doing. She was our family medic and could just put a hand on a baby and tell you what was wrong with it. This Christmas season we remember her as well as Harlan and thank her for her service to her country and to the Sylvester and Emery families.