Oct. 21, 2001 - 09:37 MDT

THE WONDERING JEW

Back Then

I'm peering into my far distant past this morning. Back when the fanciest displays were the strings of light bulbs, arranged to someone's fancy which were controlled by stepping switches and appeared to be moving as the bulbs were turned off and on in sequence. It was a treat to be downtown at night and see the pretty signs.

Back before Christmas tree lights there were candles, our first tree in my memory was candlelit. Christmas decorations down town were heavy on evergreen garlands and ropes with touches of red.

Our Civic Center then did not have the beautiful City and County Building at the West end of the Center, however the grounds descended from the State Capitol for about three short blocks to Broadway and across Broadway for about two more short blocks was the Civic Center. In the flat area west of Broadway was the Library (Built with Carnegie Funds I think). On the south side of the Center was the classic Greek Theater and on the north side was a Greek style collonade curving around an oval reflecting pool.

At Christmas time there were the traditional evergreen decorations, but as well to my little kid eyes were the reindeer housed in the dry reflecting pool. There were fanciful stories of them being some of Santa's personal reindeer. In my memory they are still some of Santa's reindeer.

Usually we would go from there downtown for Mom and Dad to window shop and me to look at the fancy displays in the department store windows. There were animated Santa's workshop displays, winter scenes, Santa and his sleigh. Electric motors moved all those things, they looked so real to me.

On the way home on the swaying, rocking street car (trolley) leaning drowsily on Dad's shoulder my dreams would play in the back of my mind peopled by the things I had seen in the store windows. I thought all of that was the most wonderful thing in the world. Certainly to a young lad they were the most wonderful.

Later the beautiful City and County building was erected at the west end of Civic Center, it is a grandiose classic building, the front arched horizontally with a large flight of steps at the back part of the arch. Christmas decorations had advanced and as well as the regular decorations colored lights came into play. Each year things were done better and were more elaborate. Heather and I took our kids each year after our return to Denver and we still get our oldest daughter from her assisted living home and take her to see the Christmas lights at Civic Center, as well as taking her around to see some of the elaborate residential light displays.

Christmases in Denver with the snow capped Rocky Mountains a panorama of perfection for a back drop and evergreen decorated everything imaginable was a great thrill to me as a young lad, Back Then. . . . . . . . .

Blog