(From the Janesville Messenger, 12-17-06)
Some snapshots from days of Christmas passed....
LaPrairie Township, circa 1932: Robert Lyke Jr. happily opens his presents from Santa Claus on Christmas morning. Unbeknownst to him, his parents are on the verge of losing their farm and are too broke to buy Christmas gifts. His sister’s husband Floyd, employed at Fisher Body in Janesville, finds out about the situation and saves the day by buying toys for his young brother-in-law.
Janesville Township, circa 1968: A half-awake Jimmy Lyke is absolutely convinced he sees Santa Claus, complete with a bag slung over his shoulder, walk down the hallway past his bedroom door.
Since the Lyke household has no chimney or fireplace, Jimmy is told by his older brother Tom that Santa has a “skeleton key” that he uses to enter the homes of the chimney-challenged.
Gifts are not opened in the Lyke household on Christmas morning until after Robert Lyke Jr., the patriarch of the house, finishes his morning milking of the cows and comes into the house to eat his breakfast. Young Jimmy impatiently waits as his father eats very slowly.
Janesville Township, circa 1970: The Santa Claus theory begins to crumble for Jimmy Lyke when he awakes early Christmas morning and discovers his mother bringing a Carrom game “from Santa” into the living room. Jimmy also notices K-Mart price tags on the game packaging.
Janesville Township, 1973: Christmas Day is somewhat somber at the Lyke household, coming off the previous day’s burial of Jimmy’s uncle Amberg, whose middle name, ironically, was Emmanuel.
Janesville Township, 1984: Jim Lyke’s parents open a gift from their son and his girlfriend Linda. Beneath the wrapping is a framed engagement picture. This is how they announce their upcoming marriage to his family.
Woodstock, Illinois, 1991: Jim Lyke presents his wife Linda with the gift of a rocking chair. The chair will be used to rock the baby that’s due to be born in a month and a half.
Janesville/Milton, 1993: On a bitterly cold Christmas Day with temperatures below zero, Jim and Linda Lyke leave Mercy Hospital, taking home their one-day-old son Robert for the first time. Rob’s older sister Corinne is not told that it is Christmas Day; for her, Santa will come one day late when the entire family is home together.
Milton, 2004: Rather than opening gifts placed under the Christmas tree, Rob and Corinne Lyke are led on a treasure hunt around the house, using clues provided by Linda to go room to room until they find the ultimate present they had requested for years: airline tickets and reservations for Walt Disney World.
These are some of my Christmas memories. May this Christmas be special for each of you, and may you someday look back on it fondly with your own special memories.
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