Christmas Letter, 1912

When my sister and I were going through some of the many interesting things mom had tucked away, we came across this letter written to my Grandma Scott, (Mae Leeder) from her grandparents,  dated December 24, 1912.   As far as I can make it out, the letter reads: 

Dear Mae

The gladsome time of X-mas has again come around and we the undersigned were young once but now are old.  We recollect the wants of young folks and that often they must go unserved, therefore we thought it our duty to try to do a little for our young people so concluded to enclose a trifle to each.  Providence having favoured more than usual, we thought it but right to divide up a little,  and that with those whom Providence had used as instruments for our welfare.

I now enclose a trifle for you as a token of our love and esteem, trusting that you will accept it in the same spirit as that in which it is given.

We wish you all the compliments of the season and many happy returns and may the Good Lord ever be with you to Bless and Comfort you. 

Yours truly, Grandpa and Grandma

My imagination of course runs wild with something like this and I want to fill in all the blanks.  Were these people always this stuffy and formal, or in 1912 was this a perfectly normal way to say Merry Christmas to your grandaughter?  Mae would have been 25 years old when she received this letter and ‘trifle’, and would not marry for another 3 years.  She was the eldest in her family, and the only girl, with five younger brothers.  The ‘each’ no doubt included her siblings.  All of them are credited with contributing to their grandparents’ welfare.  But somehow I think perhaps Mae did more than her fair share of contributing, having not yet been swept off  by a husband who, along with her future family, would eventually take up the bulk of her time. 

Grandma told me once that she waited around for a long time before grandpa came along, because she wanted to make sure she found a man who could WORK.  And yes, she said that word in capital letters.  No lazy bums for her.  And I don’t remember my grandma ever being idle.  If all her own work was finished, she’d go gallavanting off somewhere to help somebody else with theirs.  I guess she knew there were rewards to be reaped, no matter how ‘trifling’. 

This letter was obviously treasured for it to have survived intact for so long.  My mom had it glued into one of her many scrapbooks of memorabilia.  And now it’s mine to keep safe for awhile.