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Memory Lane: Readers share memories of Christmases past

We asked, you answered — remembering the holidays of yesteryear when downtown Sudbury was the bustling hub of the Christmas season

Nearly 60 years after he cried out, “Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”, Charlie Brown would be proud. 

You know that it says something special about us when we reminisce about Christmas shopping downtown in the past and discover that most of the discussion surrounds the decorations, the atmosphere … the “feeling” of Christmas and not the commercial aspect.

This feeling was captured ever so perfectly by the late Oryst Sawchuk in his watercolour titled “Last Minute Shopping.” It is a painting that evokes nostalgia, making one feel they could step into right into the painting as if by magic, like the chalk drawings in “Mary Poppins”, and return to a snowy Christmas Past on Elm Street. 

As Sudbury.com reader Carol Maleszko wrote, “Sudbury was a magical place … at Christmas.”

For many years (until it was permanently removed from downtown to make room for a Woolworth’s store, which created its own memories of a different sort), the Federal Building — the “old Post Office” to most of us — hosted Sudbury’s version of the Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tree. 

This enormous evergreen was sponsored by the Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, and it was situated in front of the building at the corner of the two main shopping thoroughfares of Elm and Durham Streets.  

After a family would spend some time downtown admiring this beautiful tree while jumping from store to store amidst the hustle and bustle, they could cross over to the Sudbury City Market in the Borgia neighbourhood and pick out a beautiful “evergreen tree such as a spruce or a balsam (which) were sold there for 3 dollars apiece,” as remembered by reader Charles Booth. 

Of course, this was a choice made by those who eschewed those “interesting” artificial trees sold at Eaton’s, Kresge’s, Woolworth’s and Canadian Tire (not everyone wanted a great big shiny aluminum Christmas Tree painted pink as requested by Lucy to good ol’ Charlie Brown).

When the Post Office was gone and the monolithic Woolworth’s building replaced it at the corner of Elm and Durham, a new Christmas decoration came to dominate that corner in a similar way as the Christmas tree of old — a giant Santa hung atop the intersection.  

As another Sudbury history writer, Bruce Bell, has stated in a past story, once it appeared on the downtown skyline “you knew that Christmas had officially arrived.”

The lyrics of the song “Silver Bells,” first recorded by Bing Crosby, take us back to a different time, that different Christmas Feeling that we long for in our lives. 

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style
In the air there's a feeling of Christmas
Children laughing, people passing, meeting smile after smile
And on every street corner you hear….

And what was a trip downtown at Christmas in Sudbury like for most of us? 

Marina Glibbery captured it best while remembering the downtown of old with its “vibrancy, people smiling, wishing each other ‘Seasons Greetings’ and happily shopping and supporting the merchants.” Claire Lavergne echoes this sentiment with her own observation, calling it a “magical time (in a) beautiful, friendly downtown.”

Durham Street in the mid 2oth century had a certain Christmas aesthetic, being the most decorated street in town, that still holds sway in peoples’ minds to this day. That special mixture of Holiday-specific lighting and the various stores’ neon lights reflecting off the falling snow as well as the plentiful Christmas displays in the windows of nearly every store did an excellent job of heightening the Christmas spirit within the hearts of shoppers. 

Reader Barbara Fisher writes that she misses “all of the decorations, shopping, going store to store” because “it made Christmas special.”

Another reader, Laura Thompson, wrote about her love of “downtown in the ’70s and (even into) the ’80s (where) there were Christmas decorations and lights everywhere and every store you could want to find.” From her recollections, we are also reminded of those who worked downtown during what is inarguably the busiest time of the year, but “could easily get Christmas shopping done on an hour-long lunch break or by staying for an hour or so after work.”

Now that we have reached the point of speaking about Christmas shopping, that most commercial aspect of the season (sorry, Charlie Brown), one business clearly won out in the hearts and memories of most.

It is the answer to the question: “What could be a more Canadian shopping experience than Eaton’s?” Well, obviously, it’s shopping at Eaton’s at Christmastime, which is hands down the No. 1 memory among the vast majority of Sudburians. It is a memory that can instantly transport a person back “home” to their childhood, as quickly as Dorothy with her ruby slippers.

For reader George Verge, “Eaton’s (on Durham) had the best toy department at Christmas time” where he remembers spending “many enjoyable hours.” Others, such as reader June-Marie Charlwood “loved the Christmas window displays as a kid.”

Even former employees have great memories of Christmases past at the old Durham Street store. Reader Freda Adams “loved working there at Christmas time” and remembers “the store was beautifully decorated.” And, as far as Christmas gift shopping was concerned, her mother “always filled our Christmas tree with gifts from Eaton’s.”

Of course, Eaton’s hold on our Christmas imagination did not disappear when it made the leap from Durham Street and into the City Centre. Even now, folks such as reader Dyann Lebreton remember “the Christmas trees along the top of the escalator, always full of decorations (and) beautiful beyond compare.” 

Reader Marc Pleau echoes this sentiment. “It was a marvelous place to peruse with friendly staff everywhere … top notch Christmas displays.” For some shoppers, like reader David Bellmore, it just “wasn’t Christmas till you walked through there.”

Now, lest we forget that Eaton’s did not corner the market on Christmas decorations, “those were the days when (all) downtown merchants displayed a lot of joy!” as reader Ida Ceccarelli reminds us. 

From the very beginnings of the Town of Sudbury, the majority of stores in downtown included some form of Christmas finery to accentuate their merchandising of the day. 

For instance, a photo of Jessop’s Stationery Store on Cedar Street shows decorative garland, shiny tinsel and what appears to be handmade paper snowflakes to wish “Xmas Greetings 1915” to their customers.

These rudimentary decorations certainly evolved over time. Now, instead of paper snowflakes we saw the Canadian Tire Santa riding a rocket over the Elm Street skyline for all the children to admire, and later still we could go visit Santa in his Anglo-Saxon-inspired castle inside the City Centre. 

Decorations such as these are the reason many of us remember, like reader Dan Oechsler commented, that “Christmas back in our childhoods memories will always be the best.”               

It’s Christmas time in the city and as this article comes to a close, I invite everyone to get out there and experience the decorations, the atmosphere, that “feeling” of the season that will continue to make Sudbury a magical place at Christmas for many more years to come.  

Soon it will be Christmas Day, dear readers, so I would like to take this time to say Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year.

Jason Marcon is a writer and history enthusiast in Greater Sudbury. He runs the Coniston Historical Group and the Sudbury Then and Now Facebook page. Memory Lane is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.


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