Quick Holiday Greetings

 

Uniting the season with my interests in Colleges and in the State of Ohio, here is a 19th Century snow scene on the campus of Ohio State University, with Main Hall in the background.

Hello everyone,  This is not a regular post, but I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season, whatever holiday(s) you may celebrate.

There is a Santa, after all.
My favorite holiday animation has long been Frannie’s Christmas, produced by Mike Mitchell. This classic took part in some animation festivals, and was released on VHS, but unaccountably has made no appearances since then. Now someone has posted a slightly imperfect dubbing on Youtube, but I recommend taking advantage of this rare opportunity to view it—who knows how long it will stay up!

Those who know my offbeat sense of humor will know why I treasure this, but at least now the rest of you won’t have to quote syrupy Letters to Virginia to prove the existence of Santa Claus:

Watch Frannie's Christmas Here.

 
Christmas Time is Here, by Golly!
While we’re on the subject of Christmas Classics, I hope that you all know Tom Lehrer’s Christmas Carol. His zany and complicated rhymes remind me of Ogden Nash, but of course the style is all Lehrer’s own, and has the added benefit of music:

Listen to Tom Lehrer's A Christmas Carol Here.

 
The Insects' Christmas
I posted this video by Russian-French animator Ladislaw Starewicz a few years ago, but many of you many have missed it, or wouldn’t mind seeing it again. Although the title sounds quite edgy, this silent animated short is just the opposite—sweet, charming and magical:

Watch Starewicz's The Insects' Christmas Here. 


Holiday Question: Can you buy artificial dead Christmas garland?
Answer:   In Taiwan, Yes!

I was walking today in the Taipei's wholesale/decoration area, and there were lots of natural/green and colorful or metallic garlands like these:

but then at a store that generally sells the cheapest of merchandise, I saw the dead artificial garland--it was not in the least metallic; in fact I kept excepting "needles" to drop off when I touched it!



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Tell me how you like these holiday videos. Try to be tolerant if any of those annoying Youtube commercials pop up. 

I hope to have a few new posts ready for early 2020. I already have a few basically prepared except waiting for some email confirmations, but you know how people are about sending emails!

Finally, I wish everyone a Happy and Safe New Year, and a healthy and prosperous 2020.


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(Stereoview photo of Ohio State University collection of the author.)

Happy Holidays from Road to Parnassus and from Painesville, Ohio!

  

After a long hiatus in posting, I want to wish you all a happy Holiday season!  As my gift, I am sending you all this cheery Holiday fireplace. Those in cold areas can use an extra one, and those lucky to be in warm places can regard this as a virtual fireplace. 

Here is the entire bag of fireplace fuel. You will notice that this comes from the Nickel Plate Coal and Supply Company in Painesville, Ohio. Some readers may remember an older post in which I visited the charming city of Painesville. 

The Nickel Plate Coal and Supply Company was presumably connected with the Nickel Plate Railroad, although perhaps in name only. The Nickel Plate was important to Ohio and Cleveland history. In the early 1900’s, the Van Sweringen brothers obtained control of the Nickel Plate because they needed its right-of-way into Cleveland in order to develop a streetcar line for the now-famous new suburb they were developing, Shaker Heights.

There was also a Nickel Plate Milling Company in Painesville, which produced flour.  Here is a vignette from one of their old envelopes:

They produced this lapel pin for a complicated promotion at the Lake County Fair (held in Painesville, where else?). They gave out these numbered badges to fair-goers, and if you found someone with the same number, you each got a free bag of flour. I have a few of these in my Painesville collection, but so far no matching set.

I realize that this fireplace gift is a rather ambiguous one. The bag presumably contained coal, and coal is the traditionally prescribed gift for naughty boys and girls. So you will have to decide for yourself how this applies to you. Of course, as fossil fuels get rarer, there is now an implied degree of generosity in a gift of coal.

Once again, let me wish you a very pleasant holiday, and a happy and healthy New Year for 2019!

(All photos and original objects collection of the author.)