Mayor’s Row……..by Ned Mitchell
One of my most memorable Christmas seasons came decades ago when I was a young child growing up in Sesser. It is difficult today to look back and find a gift or circumstance to really talk about since we are all so enamored today with the commercialization of Christmas. The decades have passed and slowly each of us has instilled the thought that we want things to be better than they were when we were growing up on each passing generation. In so doing we often put away memories from very special Christmases.
Times were difficult in our house when I was a young child. Yet I did not know that until much later after hearing my parents tell of it. Christmas was an exciting time for me and I looked forward to a small brown paper sack with an orange, an apple, and some hard candy in it that was handed out at the Methodist Church in Sesser. At home the stocking was an event that I looked forward to on Christmas morning filled with the same goodies, but it was mine and mine alone. Toys were scarce, but I do remember one Christmas having a small barn and some farm wagons that were hand made by an uncle. I still have the wagon. I remember getting one special toy each Christmas or larger item and then one or two small gifts, nothing more.
My dad, Amos Mitchell had suffered a serious bout of polio and was confined in the Veteran’s Hospital in Marion. When he was released and went through months and months of therapy at home, work was still hard to find. Now I know that when he did find work in the coal mines at Zeigler it was not steady and one winter he drove to and from Zeigler in an old car with no heater. Yet today I see that I really did not miss anything. I had a comfortable home thanks to the old Warm Morning stove. I had food to eat and even without the material things that make up Christmas now, I had a very happy childhood thanks to two loving parents who provided all of my needs and not necessarily my wants.
The most special gift I ever received was a hand me down fishing rod and reel. While playing one night at a cousin’s house one of them proudly showed me and another cousin a new rod and reel that he had received from his parents as a gift. He had two other fishing rods and reels, one in really great shape and one completely in pieces. Both I and my cousin had our eye on the really nice used fishing rod and reel. Much to my dismay my cousin who owned the equipment announced that he was going to give the best rod and reel to my other cousin. I had resigned my fate to take the worn out one and make the best of it when my uncle Lowell Dame was passing by and heard the conversation. He called his son out in the hall way and explained to him that he could not let him give the better rod and reel to the other cousin for the simple fact that my dad was not able to work and could not afford to buy me a new rod and reel but my other cousin’s dad was employed and could afford to do that for his son.
I was given the best rod and reel and at the time I am sure I was very happy. But years later I learned that lesson taught by my uncle Lowell would remain with me forever. I learned from him about people all around us, some very close to us, that are having a difficult time in life and each of us has an opportunity to do something that will help that person. Most of the time that does not involve purchasing some expensive gift, it might just involve us seeing a need and doing some small act to help that person through a difficult time.
It is strange that even though my parents later in life found full time employment and we were able to afford such things as a television, air conditioning, telephone, a college education and more expensive gifts, it is that used rod and reel and the lesson in life that I remember to this day. In all of life’s haste and the desire to buy, buy, buy, we often miss out on special events in our lives that no amount of money could replace. I’m so happy for the childhood I experienced and I hope that I can share some of that with others not only at Christmas but throughout the year. The fishing rod and reel, I don’t even know what happened to them but the memory and the lesson are etched in my mind. I learned what sharing is all about that year. Though my uncle is long gone, killed in a tragic coal mine accident, the memory of the lesson taught is always with me and I hope that both you and I in some small way can share something with someone this Christmas. Because of kind and generous parents, great aunts and uncles, I was blessed as a child and to this day I still remember Christmas as a special time. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
The City of Sesser and the Sesser Area Chamber of Commerce have been working on a new city phone book for Sesser residents only. This is a unique idea and both the city and the chamber are providing one free phone book to each household in Sesser as a public service. This will allow folks who live in Sesser to have a phone book that only lists names, addresses, and phone numbers of Sesser residents. I don’t know about you but the regular phone books are getting so big and for some strange reason hard to read, we decided to publish our own. We will let you know by next week when and where you can pick up your free phone book.
This would be a good time to sit down and address a Christmas card to a friend or neighbor. We have an abundance of good people in Sesser who are not able to get out much. It only takes a minute, the local Dollar Store has plenty of Christmas cards on hand and stamps are only .37 cents. To someone who is not feeling well or is physically unable to get out this could very well be the thing that makes their day. Sesser also has several residents who are patients in nursing homes or are now residing at assisted living facilities nearby.
Sesser resident Bob Kirkpatrick is home from a hospital stay in St. Louis after suffering a heart attack. Bob is resting at home but a card or note sent to him would be greatly appreciated.
Melissa Morgan Drew, a Benton attorney, former staffer in my Senate office, and family friend has announced her candidacy for circuit judge in the second judicial circuit. We wish Melissa well in this race and for today I will just say she is very qualified to hold this job. I’ll have more on Melissa in a week or two. She is running as a democrat.
Since it is Christmas I have decided to forget the politics for a week and concentrate on the season. Rarely a day goes by that I don’t in some small or large way become involved in a political discussion. So even though we now have a choice for governor as democrats in this great state, forgive me for letting up on those wily people we call politicians in Illinois. I’ll be back with a vengeance next week to offer my slant on things in this county and this state.
Former Sesser Catholic priest Dan Jurek always sends a Christmas card as does Father Hsu and I enjoy getting those and this year was no exception. Father Jurek always writes that he hopes Santa Claus brings us all that we need and not necessarily all that we want. In passing that thought along I hope that each and every one of you has their needs met and don’t forget to share a kind deed or thought with a friend or neighbor. After all, that is a great part of what CHRISTmas should be about.
If we can help you give us a call at 625-3611, 625-5322, 0r 625-5788. Write to us at P. O. Box 517, Sesser, Illinois 62884, or nedmitchell@verizon.net or www.sesser.org or you could even do the old fashioned thing and drop by city hall for a visit.
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