LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - DECEMBER 27, 2020 by Lynne Belluscio Very little is known about how the LeRoy family might have celebrated Christmas - - or even if they celebrated at all. Both Charlotte and Jacob had grown up in metropolitan cities on the east coast – Boston and New York, where there were some early vestiges of holiday celebrations. Probably the most compelling factor is that Jacob’s family was Dutch and it was the early Dutch families in New York City that identified with St. Nicholas. In fact, Jacob’s father’s business partner, Egbert Benson, was a founding member of the St. Nicholas Society, which was founded by Washington Irving, who wrote about the early Dutch traditions in New York City. The LeRoy’s also enjoyed food traditions that we associate with Christmas, such as Christmas cookies which the Dutch called “koekjes” and “Ollebollen” a deep fried sweet dough not unlike doughnut holes. Charlotte LeRoy’s manuscript cookbook has recipes for both these holiday treats. It was also through the stories and poems associated with the Dutch that many other Christmas traditions have evolved. So, it is possible that Charlotte and Jacob brought with them, to the frontier town of LeRoy, some of the Dutch traditions celebrated in New York City. In 1823, the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” was published in a newspaper in Troy, and was reprinted for several years before it was published as a book in 1837. Although today there is discussion about who actually wrote it, it remains a look at how St. Nicholas - -St. Nick - - Santa Clause became an integral part of the Christmas story. For the Dutch, St. Nicholas Day was December 6, so perhaps, if the family celebrated Christmas it might have been on December 6 and not December 25. Many years, during the annual Candlelight tour of LeRoy House, a story was told around the fireplace in the basement. Grandfather LeRoy, Jacob’s father Herman, had sent a copy of the “A Visit From St. Nicholas” to be read to his grandchildren. We have no idea if that was possible, but we all hoped that it was true. And so, Jacob LeRoy’s gardener, Florence McCarthy, played by Sam Leadley, would read – with a thick Irish brogue, the poem, we know as “The Night Before Christmas”. We learn about a little elf, who arrives in a miniature sleigh, with eight tiny reindeer. (Not the fat jolly man we imagine today. That vision of Santa came much later.) St. Nicholas arrives with a pack full of toys and he fills all the stockings, but alas, there is no mention of a tree. Early travelers’ accounts of New York City mention store windows filled with toys and baked goods and candy. And people caroling through the streets with buildings trimmed with evergreens, but the Christmas tree doesn’t make an appearance for a while. Actually, it appears in the German churches and homes in Pennsylvania. So, we suspect, that Jacob and Charlotte LeRoy did not have a Christmas tree, but if they celebrated Christmas, there would have been plenty of Christmas food and treats and stockings hung by the chimney “with care” in hopes that St. Nicholas, soon would be there.” In the front window of Jacob LeRoy’s office, are two bright candles placed on a table with some evergreens and holly. On the table, is a copy of a Grandfather’s poem next to a glass decanter of Mrs. Wadsworth’s lemon liquor – a recipe found in Charlotte LeRoy’s recipe book, and a favorite “lubrication” of Mr. McCarthy as he read Grandfather’s poem. There is a plate of “koekjes” and “olebollen” and some sugar plums. And out of sight, hanging from the mantle are seven stockings, one for each of the LeRoy children: eleven-year old Thomas; Augustus who is 10; their three sisters, Charlotte, Helen, and Catherine; the youngest boy, Edward who is 1 and the baby, Julia. This year, as we celebrate this Christmas in 2020, we hope you have the opportunity to drive by LeRoy House to see the windows that we have decorated with memories of Christmases past. We look forward to opening the doors again next year, so you can visit with the people who lived here, and listen to their stories. We invite anyone to join with us in 2021 as a member so that we can continue to preserve and share the heritage that is unique to this historical community. Christmas in LeRoy House in 1834 ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES Jan. 1, 20 ___ - Dec. 31, 20 ___ □ Family. ...............................35.00 □ Individual or Sen. Cit.........25.00 □ Sustaining...........................50.00 □ Supporting........................100.00 □ Life (Individual). ..............400.00 Enclosed is an additional contribution of: _______ Name:_______________________________ Address:_ ____________________________ E-Mail:______________________________ Telephone:_ __________________________ VISAORMASTERCARD#: _ ___________________________________ EXPDATE: ________ Contributions to non-profit educational insitutions are tax deductable. Please make check payable to: LeRoy Historical Society MAIL TO: LeRoy Historical Society 23 East Main Street, PO Box 176 LeRoy, NY 14482-0176 A table of Dutch Christmas treats: olibollen, ginger nuts, candied lemon peel, hot chocolate, Mrs. Wadsworths Lemon Liquor.