ABE LINCOLN ~   "Mostly, he educated himself by borrowing books and newspapers There are many stories about Lincoln's efforts to find enough books to satisfy him in that backwoods country.  Those he liked he read again and again, losing himself in the adventures of Robinson Crusoe or the magical tales of The Arabian Nights.  He was thrilled by a biography of George Washington, with its stirring account of the Revolutionary War.  And he came to love the rhyme and rhythm of poetry, reciting passages from Shakespeare or the Scottish poet Robert Burns at the drop of a hat.  He would carry a book out to the field with him, so he could read at the end of each plow furrow, while the horse was getting its breath.  When noon came, he would sit under a tree and read while he ate. 'I never saw Abe after he was twelve that he didn't have a book in his hand or in his pocket,'  Dennis Hanks remembered.  'It didn't seem natural to see a feller read like that.'"

~ Abraham Lincoln, American President (b.Feb. 12, 1809 - d.April 15, 1865)

Inscription in young Abe Lincoln's homemade arithmetic book:

"Abraham Lincoln
his hand and pen
he will be good but
god knows When."

~ LINCOLN A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY, Russell Freedman, Clarion Books, 1987.
www.alplm.org

For the book lover on your list, The Neat L'l Bookshop carries used, like-new and local new.

Many hardcover popular authors are only five dollars.Check us out!  "Coffee pot's always on..."

Have a safe and happy holiday season.  Wishing you the peace and beauty the Christmas season brings. 

Victorian Parlour Cottonwood Mansion

 In The Victorian Christmas Book*, Antony & Peter Miall describe the tradition of a Christmas goose in the South of England and roast beef in the North.

In Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol (1843) the Crachit family dined on goose, "Its tenderness and flavor, size and cheapness, were the themes of universal admiration."

"Bob Crachit's salary was fifteen shillings a week.  How could he afford a goose of such magnificence?  The answer lies in one of the great Victorian working-class institutions ~ The Goose Club.  Even the lowest paid worker could enjoy a goose at Christmas with his family by contributing to his local Goose Club a small part of his week's wages throughout the year.  Some Goose Clubs also raffled geese and bottles of wine or port...Bob Cratchit and many of his kind took their Christmas geese to the baker to be cooked, then returned home with the finished article to find the whole family waiting round the table with knives and forks at the ready.  Middle-class families, however, would expect to cook their own Christmas lunch."

~ *J.M.Dent & Sons Ltd., 1978.

~ Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870) English author

www.cottonwoodmansion.ca

12.12.12 (For superstitious folks:  this is apparently the last triple date for almost a century!  January 1, 2101)  For couples:  it is an easy anniversary date to remember.

"It is a woman's business to get married as soon as possible, and a man's to keep unmarried as long as he can."
~ George B.Shaw (1856 - 1950) Man and Superman, Irish playwright. 

"The best works, and of greatest merit for the public, have proceeded from the unmarried or childless men."
~ Francis Bacon (1561 -1626)  Of Marriage and Single Life. English philosopher, statesman.

"When you're a married man, Samivel, you'll understand a good many things as you don't understand now; but vether it's worth while goin' through so much to learn so little, as the charity boy said ven he got to the end of the alphabet, is a matter o' taste."
~ Charles Dickens,  Pickwick Papers XXVII

"Marriage is popular because it combines the maximum of temptation with the maximum of opportunity."
~ George B. Shaw, Maxims for Revolutionists.

The writings of Charles Dickens had a profound effect on the public attitude to Christmas.  In his book, The Pickwick Papers (1836-7) he created an optimistic atmosphere of festivity that industrial England welcomed.  Games such as blind-man's buff, snap-dragon were played.  Logs burned in the fireplace.  Small gifts ~ bibles, handkerchiefs, pincushions, writing cases, glove boxes, photographic frames and coins were exchanged.  Gifts were often homemade.  Meals of wassail, hot apples and turkey.
The Victorians established Christmas as a time for children.  "It was the one event of the year when families could spend time together in a spirit of pure fun and merry-making.  Apart from all the excitement of decorating the Christmas tree and house, of giving and receiving presents, of attending parties, there were also the simple pleasures, such as reading a picture book together or walking in the country."

~ The Spirit of Christmas Past, Linda Clements, Todri Productions Ltd., 1996.
~ Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870) English author.  The Pickwick Papers, Serial Publication 1836.

Cottonwood Mansion in December ~

Photos by Catherine Stidsen

Alan Bishop, John Passfield, Neil Paul & John Nixon, Authors

Cottonwood Brass

(Experiencing technical difficulties w/blogspot ~ forgive incomplete captions!) 

The Santa Parade is the Effort of Many People ~ the following only a few of the 2012 entries.  Thank you to all the organizers and participants.

Toby Barrett, MPP



Mayor Hewitt & Councillor Morrison



(Note:  For a few more photos go to Facebook's "Cayuga-on-the-Grand.")