Christmas Tree Factoids

 

One of the most recognizable symbols of the holiday season is the Christmas tree. They can be seen in homes, public spaces and many prominent locations everywhere during December. 

Did you know that most Christmas trees that we buy from those corner lots are raised on tree farms? Christmas trees are an agricultural product with roughly a million acres dedicated to tree farming. The top tree producing states are Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Washington. 

Did you know that approximately 25-30 million real Christmas trees are sold in the U.S. every year? 

Did you realize it can take as long as 15 years to grow a typical tree?

Did you know that the Germans are credited with bringing the first Christmas trees into the home and decorating them in the spirit of Christmas. The first recorded reference dates back to the 16th century.

Did you guess that the most common Christmas tree species are balsam fir, Douglas fir, Fraser fir, noble fir, Scotch pine, Virginia pine and white pine. (Why some capitalized and some not??) 

Why not be different this year and have a Charlie Brown Christmas tree? You could find a little scraggy pine most anywhere and "rescue" it from oblivion. It's one of my favorites!

Collateral Research: DO NOT OVERLOOK!

 

To me, this candle-lighted village epitomizes the concept of collateral research. Everybody in the village knows everybody and most of them are related.

Pamela Bell Dallas gave a super presentation to EWGS in October, 2025. She defined Collateral Research as a common term in genealogy, meaning investigating relatives who are not direct line ancestors..... like aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings ...... to hopefully find information about a direct ancestor.

"Why do this?" she asked. "To help us over come so-called brick walls by finding the answers and information you've been seeking "forever." 

Dallas explained that people can be tied together by blood, circumstances, law, emotions, common beliefs and common experiences. Two little girls of the same age formed a bond that lasted a lifetime even though they were cousins with different parents and surnames. "The strongest family ties are between women," Dallas quipped. 

Rather than turn this bit into a 20" long column, I'll refer you to Grandma Google. Ask her "how to do collateral research" and you'll have enough hits to occupy a full day of your time.

I want to share my story: While researching James, the youngest son born in the early 1800s, I concentrated on him like most all beginners do. WELL.  The oldest child, a daughter, born 20 years before James, never married but cared for siblings and parents all her life. She joined DAR and was very proud of her ancestry. Her obituary reflected this passion for it was inches long listing all her ancestors! Which of course, were James' ancestors too. DUH on me and please learn from my silliness. 

Go Zags & Other Trivia

 

How many ardent Zags fans known where the name Gonzaga originated? I did not, nor did my rapt-BB-fan-son-in-law. 

"Gonzaga was named for Aloysius Gonzaga who was born in the castle of Castiglione on March 9, 1568. As a youth, and often with his father, he traveled widely in Italy and Spain. In 1581 he formed the resolution of becoming a Jesuit, renouncing his noble family's wealth in favor of his brother (to their father's dismay). Before the end of his novitiate, he passed a brilliant public act in philosophy...... when he was in Spain he distinguished himself in philosophy. 

"In 1591, while in Italy, a famine and pestilence broke out. Though in delicate health, he devote himself to the care of the sick and while serving others he himself fell ill in early March.

"Aloysius Gonzaga died on June 21, 1591."

It was Father Joseph Cataldo who, in 1887, was the founder of the school in Spokane, named the school after his fellow Italian saint. St. Aloysius Gonzaga is known as the patron saint of youth. 

More Random Thoughts

 

"Speaking kindly to others can be a challenge if we are convinced that we can clean up the world with the mop and pail of our own knowledge and opinions."  (unknown)

"Worry is a blob monster, slowly and relentlessly engulfing everything it touches."  (Matthew 6:31)

"Money, even if it does not bring you happiness, will at least help you be miserable in comfort."  (Helen Gurley Brown)

"The trick is to stop thinking of it as your money."  (IRS auditor)

"A bank is a place that will lend you money if you an prove that you don't need it."  (Bob Hope)

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination."  (Oscar Wilde)

"If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of payments."  (Earl Wilson)

"A bargain is something you can't use at a price you can't resist." (Franklin Jones)

"I have enough money to last me the rest of my life unless I buy something."  (Jackie Mason)

"What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector? The taxidermist takes only your skin."  (Mark Twain)

And lastly, my favorite:  "Recognize and beware that our time is short and life has a way of consuming the time we have."  (Ephesians 5:16)

Random Thoughtful Thoughts

 

"If you aren't where you are, you are no place."  (Col. Potter, M*A*S*H)

From Henry David Thoreau:

• The universe is wider than our views of it
• It's not worthwhile to go round the world to count cats in Zanzibar
• Things do not change; we change
• Money is not required to buy the necessities of the soul
• Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life?

"The counsel of fools is all the more dangerous the more of them there are." (King Olaf of Norway, 938-1006 AD)

"Never suppress a generous thought."  (Camilla Kimball, 1894-1987)

"Too often we hear what we want to hear instead of what we should have heard."  (Brent L. Top, author)

"Disappointment comes to visit on occasion but should never be allowed to stay."  (Richard Norby, author)

"The defects of great men are the consolation of the dunces."  (Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881, British Prime Minister)

"Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself."  (Chief Seattle)

"They were such seriously futile people that she found herself wanting to cry out against their ready-made justifications for pointless lives."  (Frank Herbert, Children of Dune) 

You may quote any of these, anytime and to anybody. (smile)

Say Goodbye To The Penny

 

Did you catch the recent news story that the U.S. Mint won't be making anymore pennies. Why? Well the story explains that it costs $3.69 to make a single penny, that's why. But shed no tears yet, there are still an estimated 300 billion pennies remaining in circulation and they are still legal tender.

But consider some oft-quoted expressions that soon will fade:

• A penny for your thoughts
• Cost a pretty penny
• A penny saved is a penny earned
• Find a penny, pick it up and all day long you'll have good luck.
• No more "pinching pennies"
• Worth every penny
• I'll give you my 2-cents worth
• Penny-wise and pound-foolish
• He's a 2-bit criminal

What about my favorite penny, the 1943 zinc coated steel penny...... so made to save copper for the wartime effort:

Introducing myself, I often say "I was born the year of the Black Penny....who knows what that is?"  And most do not. When I was about eight years old, I collected a pint jar of black pennies.....wish I still had them today. 

Christmas Town Names

 

Bet you'd never guess at the number of American towns having Christmas-related names. I was amazed. Consider:

Santa, Benewah County, Idaho;   Santa Claus in Indiana;  Santa Claus in Mohave County, Arizona;  Santa Claus in Toombs County, Georgia;    Christmas in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan;   North Pole near Fairbanks, Alaska;   North Pole in Essex County, New York;   Snowflake in Navajo County, Arizona;  Noel in McDonald County, Missouri;   Rudolph in Wood County, Wisconsin;  Holly in Oakland County, Michigan;   Christmas Valley in Lake County, Oregon, which is near Christmas Lake;   Dasher in Lowndes County, Georgia.

And I'd bet with a few minutes searching with Grandma Google, you could find dozens more! 

Dear Reader, were you born in a "Christmas" town? Love to hear from you if so.