A special thank you to all those who have participated in our “I Remember Rippey” series. Your remembrances have allowed readers to share in our town’s history, activities, sports, school, church, and daily life covering 150 years.
We will continue posting online here, using “I Remember Rippey” remembrances received prior to April 30, 2020. If you would like to read more Rippey history, you may also click on the History tab of the Rippey Library website: https://www.rippey.lib.ia.us .
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A Christmas Story by Marna Rittgers Parker
Right after Thanksgiving, the merchants in Rippey sponsored a Saturday giveaway on Main Street – Burk’s Garage, First National Bank, Killam’s Hardware Store, and Clover Leaf Grocery Store were located at the intersection where the drawing was held. As you shopped in the stores during the week, you filled out a card and that ended up in a hopper for Saturday’s drawing. I remember I won a frozen turkey!
The Saturday before Christmas was for the kids – Santa would come to town. I was older but we still lived in the Hagerman House. My dad Wesley came in with a box and in that box was a Santa suit. He had been asked to play Santa for the Saturday drawing. My dad was a big guy and the Santa suit didn’t really fit him, but it was the only one available so he had to wear it. And the beard – white cotton beard – didn’t cover up his face very well.
Kids didn’t care – it was Santa and he was passing out bags of candy, peanuts, and fruit. Wesley had been working for the school district as a custodian and bus driver. As a result, he knew all the local kids. Can you imagine the joy they felt when Santa handed them their bag of goodies calling them by name! Not like your usual mall Santa. This Santa actually knew their names! If some of the kids recognized him behind his ill-fitting beard, they didn’t say. They were happy to get a bag of goodies complements of the Rippey merchants.