The best Christmas present I ever got was Skippy. Our dog, Butch – a Boston Terrier, had died. Poor Butch was 13 years old and had fluid in his lungs. After watching him struggle miserably to breathe, forgoing food and being fed water with a turkey baster, we took a family decision and had him put down. We buried him on my Grandpa’s farm in rural Mondovi, Wisconsin which was about a two and a half hour drive away from our house in a suburb of St. Paul. My sister cried all the way there. She wailed while I wept quietly, until I had no more tears to shed.
Butch arrived at our home shortly after I did. I burst into the world in September; Butch was a Christmas present, back in 1959. My folks told me I was delighted by Butch. I don’t remember that Christmas moment, but I did love him all of his life. I was thirteen when he died, my sister was ten. Butch’s death was traumatic for my Dad too. Butch was really his dog and combining that with the grief of his kids, especially his golden haired daughter, my parents decided “no more dogs”. My sister was the “golden haired child” in more ways than one. Daddy’s little girl and the youngest in the family. You know how the youngest are treated; family favorite and getting all the breaks. Don’t deny it, you youngest in the family out there. The oldest children are the experimental ones raised by first time parents who don’t know what they’re doing yet, the youngest is the “golden child” – nuff said.
So, we had hamsters. They ran themselves to death, heart attacks I suppose, on tiny wheels in their cages. Then there were guinea pigs, well named – smelly, dirty things that bit and hard too. There was talk of a rabbit but my sister and I both said, “forget it”. The cat people out there are wondering, “Why not a cat?” I’m allergic to cats and so was my Dad, thus no felines in the house.
So, on a snowy Christmas Eve, about three years after Butch had died, my sister and I trudged up the hill on my Grandpa’s farm to where the pets were buried. We spent a long time there, gazing at Butch’s grave and playing, “Remember when…” smiling and laughing, reminiscencing about all the good times we had with Butch.
We went back to Grandpa’s house and there was Sugar, Skippy and Cinnamon, all miniature poodles belonging to my Uncle and Aunt. My Uncle Ray was an insurance agent in Michigan. Aunt Judy was an occupational therapist and a fantastic singer (she sang with orchestra’s all over the country as a guest vocalist) and raised poodles for sale. Sugar was white, Skippy black and Cinnamon a reddish color. My sister and I assumed, since they lived in Michigan and were celebrating Christmas with the extended family on the home place in Wisconsin, they brought the pups along to save boarding costs and thought no more about it. As yet unbeknown to us, Skippy was our Christmas present that year. She was the best Christmas present I’ve ever received in my life, and she was “hidden” in plain sight. My sister and I never tumbled to it, even when we opened a Christmas box with our names on it and inside was a collar. We thought that meant some dog would be ours, after we returned home and not the cute, bright eyed, lovable little coal black thing immediately in front of us, wagging her tail off. My sister cried again over a dog. This time, tears of joy. If truth be told, I was a little misty too.
As I’ve said, Skippy was the best Christmas present I’ve ever received. However, my Uncle and Aunt gave us that precious gift with the full knowledge and consent of my parents. A pet can be a great Christmas present, but ONLY with permission. Too often, “surprise” pets end up at a shelter because the apartment doesn’t allow pets, someone in the family is allergic to the type or breed of the animal or because time and/or resources don’t allow the gifted owner to be responsible for the pet. However, if you are in the market for a Christmas pet, and all the hurdles have been cleared, then Ed’s Pet World would be thrilled to accommodate you with a “Skippy” – of some kind – of your own.
“Hidden in plain sight”, can also best describe our local retail scene. There are a myriad of stores in Mitchell with a wide selection of goods. Many places in town have unique merchandise and one of a kind items to repose under your tree and delight some lucky gift recipient on Christmas. All you have to do is to walk Main Street and take the time to look around.
The National Retailers Association estimates that 20% of a business’ income for the year is generated from Black Friday through Christmas Eve. This is one of the most crucial times of the year for retailers everywhere but especially for local businesses on small town Main Streets.
Before you complete your Christmas shopping, give the stores in town a look. The problem for guys often is they don’t know the size of their gals or are unsure of their woman’s taste in apparel and accessories. Individual stores offer gift certificates or folks can purchase “Mitchell Money” from the Chamber of Commerce, across from the Corn Palace. The VISA gift cards are Mitchell branded (with a picture of the Corn Palace Dome on the front) and are available in denominations from $10 all the way up to $1000. They make great stocking stuffers.
Local merchants have products available in a range of prices so there is no harm in browsing, even in the “expensive” places. There are stores in town for apparel, ladies’ fashions, gifts and collectibles, shops for curios and places for gear heads. The toy selection for kids is not limited to Walmart. Runnings has toys, many of them rural in nature that make them perfect for this area. Bonnie’s DeKor has toys, upstairs in the back corner and the Mercantile has a nice array of toys and games in the back of their place of business. The Tumbleweed also has some items for children. There are coffee shops and restaurants when you want to rest your feet or refresh yourself. Treat yourself to a movie while you’re in town. For those out-of-towners you’re buying gifts for there are always “Mitchell specific” items, like sports gear from local teams (the Kernels, Mitchell Christian or Dakota Wesleyan) or gifts from the Corn Palace. My wife Julie brought along Corn Palace hats, the corn cob variety, when she went on a National Geographic trip to Iceland, and they were the hit of the scientific expedition. You may think presents from the Corn Palace are just that – “corny”, but you’d be surprised how many people from other places think they’re “cool”.
A local purchase means no shipping fees, no waiting and no concern about porch pirates stealing that special present just before Christmas. There’s something about going out in the brisk air among the Christmas lights with other people and hearing the Christmas carols that puts a person in the holiday spirit. That can’t be duplicated sitting at home, hunched over a computer buying from who knows who and from who knows where. Are those online sizes Chinese sizes? (if you’ve bought clothing over the Internet then you know what I’m talking about.) Is that shipping delivery date a promise carved in stone or rather a vague, hazy; “We think, if the weather holds and all is right in Heaven, then probably – well, maybe – it will arrive around the time we said, within a week or two. It is the Christmas season after all, you know…”
Local businesses pay wages, property taxes and support local school and other fundraising events. Their continued existence is vital to the economic health of our community. We ask them to employ local people, support local causes and promote local events. They are the “face” of Mitchell for tourists. These businesses are the livelihoods for their owners and employees. They are the life blood of our community. They will not continue to exist if they are not patronized and supported. Then where will we be as a community for choice, employment and ultimately faced with more empty store fronts?
Take some time this holiday season to stroll the streets of Mitchell, have a bite to eat and absorb the sights and sounds of Christmas as you look for that special something for that special someone. Mitchell has lots to offer, with much of it “hidden in plain sight”. All you have to do is look. You’ll be glad you did and so will the person who receives that local gift this Christmas.