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History in the Hills: Merry Christmas

I can’t believe that Christmas is right around the corner. These past few months have just raced by. It seems that as I get older, time moves even faster. Probably it has to do with having an active family. My son is in basketball and my daughter just finished dancing in the Nutcracker ballet through her studio.

Each one of those activities requires a large time commitment. I don’t know how my wife manages to get everything done that needs to be completed before the holidays in addition to taking care of the kids and navigating these extra activities. From baking cookies, shopping for Christmas gifts, inscribing Christmas cards and making sure all of us are well cared for and fed, she certainly works so hard. I appreciate all that she does because she holds us together and makes the holidays especially special for our children. Seeing the joy on their faces on Christmas morning makes it all worth it.

In the days leading up to Christmas, one can find a lot of our area families doing the typical Christmas activities our area has to offer, such as visiting the Wheeling Festival of Lights or visiting Steubenville for the Nutcracker Village and Christmas at the Fort. There is so much to do in our valley at this time of year. Recently, my twins and I visited Weirton Elementary School for their first sensory Santa event. It was a fantastic event and one which I hope will become part of our Christmas traditions.

Traditions do come and go though as time and family changes. I remember one of my favorite things to do as a kid was to drive through certain neighborhoods in Weirton for their annual luminary displays. Country Club and Angeline Estates always did this in years past that I can remember anyways, and there may have been others, too.

My family and I would drive through these areas to enjoy the luminaries but also enjoy the lights of the houses.

People are so creative with their decorations. I also remember always going to the Fort Steuben Mall to see Santa and maybe taking a ride on the train they had in the concourses, and who could forget to see the displays by Creegan and Company. Creegan’s deserves an article all on its own. I loved passing by in front of the Weirton Community Center to see the nativity scene and the giant waving Santa which has been in front of the center for decades. At Christmas in 1952, it was in front of the Stone and Thomas Department store. Those are great memories.

Christmas celebrations of the past centered around friends and family, just like they do today. I love looking through the Weirton Steel Employee Bulletins, especially the Christmas issues, because they give a snapshot into our area’s past. The 1944 Christmas issue is especially appealing to me because there are many letters from soldiers in World War II writing to thank Weirton Steel for sending a Christmas check and a leather wallet as a Christmas gift, in addition to a photograph of the new honor roll that was dedicated in September of that year. Thankfully that would be the last Christmas of the war.

Another bulletin I find interesting is the Christmas edition of 1948. In this bulletin, the economic impact of Weirton Steel’s employees in our area was touted. The industrial payroll of the area in that year in the Weirton-Steubenville area was $65 million. Statistics showed that in that year, folks in the area were projected to spend “$7 million on clothing; $11 million on automobiles; $2 million in drug stores; $5 million for furniture and household goods; $15 million for groceries; and over $4 million in restaurants and drinking places.”

In 1948, the minimum hourly rate for an employee in the mill was $1.26, or around $10.12 per eight-hour shift. That pay made it possible for many happy Christmases in the area. During that Christmas of 1952, the brand-new Millsop Community Center hosted the biggest Christmas party in the region. An estimated 5,000 kids came to celebrate Christmas at this event, sponsored by the Weirton Chamber of Commerce and the Independent Steel Workers Union. Santa was the guest of honor, in addition to clowns, magicians, dancing acts and acrobats. Santa did give a gift to all the children who attended.

That December edition of the bulletin from 1952, shows so many photos of Christmas in Weirton and many of the Christmas parties each department in the mill had, too. The bulletin staff asked members of the community to send in their pictures of their Christmas celebrations to include in their Christmas 1953 edition. Many did memorialize their Christmas in those bulletins, and that has given me a chance, more than 70 years later, to share in that joy too.

All in all, Christmas is a time for family, friends, community and tradition. I am thankful to live in an area with so much to do and traditions to continue. Keep those you love close to you this holiday season and remember Christmas celebrations of the past. It’s what keeps us warm all year long.

(Zuros is the director of Historic Fort Steuben)

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