Christmas 1968 - Christmas at Grandpa Les and Grandma Jean's

Christmas 1969 - Opening Presents at Grandpa Les and Grandma Jean's House

Wow, did I ever score! I got to open presents at home and at two sets of grandparents! In the world of a kid it doesn't get much better than that...

Christmas 1970 - Grandma Jean's Tree

Grandma Jean's tree in Two Harbors. Most likely it was from the land her and Grandpa Les' cabin was on.

Christmas 1974

Christmas 1974 is the only Christmas I remember where we had guests stay with us. Mom's mom and dad, Grandma Jean and Grandpa Les, came to stay with us for the holiday along with Mom's brother, Uncle Denny, and his wife, Aunt Marlene. These pictures really make me sentimental for Christmas past.

Christmas 1979 - Joe's Tree

I'm sure this tree was obtained from Grandpa Les and Grandma Jean's cabin outside Two Harbors. As part of our Thanksgiving visit we would usually cut down a big tree for our living room and one or two smaller trees for our bedrooms before we journeyed home. This tree displays many of the ornaments I got in my shoe on St. Nicholas Day. I like the goofy look on my face in the top picture. You can tell I'm trying to be precise about how that ornament is going to hang. I still do that now!

Christmas 1983 - Grandma Jean's Tree

Here's another photo, this one from 1983, of one of Grandma Jean's trees. The photo was taken at the house of Grandma Jean and Grandpa Les in Two Harbors.

Christmas 1985 - Grandma Jean's Tree

I've looked high. I've looked low. I can only find one photo related to Christmas 1985. Every year Grandma Jean put up a Christmas tree and took a picture. She always put up a fresh tree that she got on the land that she and Grandpa Les owned just outside of Two Harbors. The trees got smaller over the years I'm sure because it was just easier that way. I found this Polaroid instant photo among some of Mom's photographs. The writing at the bottom is Grandma Jean's.

Christmas 1988 - Jean and Les

Our family hadn't been up north to be with Mom and Dad's families for Christmas since 1971. We spent just about every Thanksgiving with them but due to music commitments for church we stayed home for Christmas. In 1988 Grandpa Les was in the hospital for an operation just before Christmas. We went up for Christmas that year to be closer to Grandma Jean and to be available to help while Grandpa was in the hospital. I noted in my journal that being up there for Christmas was "just like Thanksgiving only with ham instead of turkey." In the above photos you see Grandma Jean with Grandpa Les shortly after he came home for Christmas. This was the last Christmas I would spend with them. Jean died in 1991 and Les died in 1992.

Christmas 1988 - Sam

Because Grandpa Les was having health trouble and in the hospital in Duluth in 1988 we decided to spend Christmas in Two Harbors for the first time since 1971. In the photo above is Sam and one of my cousin Diane's boys at Grandma Alice and Grandpa Lue's house.