On Dec. 23 at 2 o’clock we had a Christmas program. We had planned on having a pie supper the night before but it rained and spoiled our plans. There was an attendance of 18.

Our program was as follows:

Song: A Welcome Song– School

Rec: A Wish– Minnie Jane Campbell

Rec: A Possibility– Leland Ritter

Play: Elsie’s Christmas Eve

Rec:The Happiest Girlie– Louise Campbell

Mono: Learning a Piece– Vern Simpson

Dialog: Waiting Up For Santa Claus

Song: Oh Little Town of Bethlehem

Mono: The Christmas Packages — Maria Leach

Rec: Joe’s Stocking and Mine– Darlene Ritter

Rec: Three Stockings in a Row– Fern Simpson

Rec: Christmas Bells– Earl Simpson

Phonograph Record: Silver Bell

Play: Santa’s Volunteers————- (over)

Pg. 43— Grandma’s Day Journal– My Hunter Family Collection

There is good reason I believe this is a mistake on the year entry for this page. The entry on the following page is about Christmas Day 1932, so I think Inez was trying to mentally prepare for the new year ahead. I can’t imagine the trials and hardships she witnessed in those early years of The Great Depression. There was some government assistance, but it came in the years beginning in 1933 when Roosevelt took office. The Social Security Administration began in 1935, for instance. So at the time covered here, little of significance was happening to help families, farmers or businesses. Loss was loss. Total and devastating. It’s no wonder she focused primarily on celebrations during these times.

So to have a pie supper must have been a way of lending a helping hand to those in need without it seemingly being a charitable gift. Many had the mentality that charity was a hand out. If you hadn’t earned it yourself, it was not accepted.

But speaking of pie for supper, it’s a great way to stretch a dollar and a meal. For some suggestions, let me give you a few:

• Chicken Pot Pie
• Beef Pot Pie
• Four Cheese Tomato Pie
• Shepherds Pie
• Frito Pie
• Sloppy Jo Pie
• Chicken Tamale Pie
• Summer Squash Pie
• Cheeseburger Pie
• Taco Pot Pie
• Quiche

And those are just the entrees. We won’t even begin to talk about dessert. You’re welcome.