Birthdays and Christmas pondered

Christ’s birthday is the reason for this season. Nothing compares to the wonder and miracle of the virgin birth, no matter how many times the story is studied and retold. We hope you will take the time to reflect upon your relationship with Christ as we celebrate His birthday.

Birthdays are special. It’s a commencement in the delivery room. Perhaps the man who can most relate to the miracle of birth is Dr. Larry Dickinson, one of the few obstetricians who live and work in rural Northwest Missouri. I dare say he has witnessed more births than any of us, and yet, beyond the medical terms and concerns, he remains in awe of experience of new life as do the rest of us. Three times he has shared in this special experience in our family. I can remember those times now years ago as clearly as if they happened only yesterday. It helps me understand how magnificent God’s gift of Jesus Christ truly is unto this world, and it makes me glad.

Of course, birthdays particularly during childhood years can be fun. And birthday greetings as we grow older often prompt an injection of a little good-natured humor in this newspaper. I’m not sure when a birthday greeting to spoof the birthday honoree became popular in community newspapers. But seldom is there an issue of this newspaper without someone’s birthday featured in some way, usually by a caption underscoring thoughts sparked by an old photograph. Even the cliche rhymes like "Lordy forty" and "Nifty Fifty" pack a spark with each new application.

Some publishers have been sued for invasion of privacy when such photo pranks exceed the norms generally considered in good taste. I can recall having to turn away only one birthday greeting because of questionable content thus far. I know of a couple of birthday boys still investigating who was the initiating culprit, sometimes months after the fact (see there, a newspaper editor doesn’t always tell everything he knows)!

Some people don’t like being reminded of their birthdays or pull a "Jack Benny" when asked their age, repeatedly claiming the age of 39. Any birthday after the twentieth is a plentieth! But some of the most interesting stories involve the circumstances of a baby’s birth sometimes decades ago, if we only remember them.

This week, for instance, you will note a birthday greeting placed in this newspaper for Norma Griffin and her sister. About five years ago, the late J. Paul Croy wrote an article focusing on the miracle of their birth. Here’s what J. Paul wrote:

"Jan. 24, 1935, was the projected date for the arrival of a baby at Irven and Alice Skinner’s home in Washington Township of Daviess County. Their home was located on a dirt road and recent rains had left the road rough and rutted. Then weather turned cold and the roads froze.

"The doctor, G.D. Harris from Jamesport, was approximately 25 miles away. His means of travel was a Model T Ford roadster, but he bounced on these rough roads the entire distance. He was called to the farm on Dec. 27, 1934, to assist in the delivery. At 7:30 a.m. a baby girl arrived, and as a complete surprise, 30 minutes later, another girl arrived.

"This was before the days of sonograms, so the entire group was unprepared. The group consisted of the mother, the father, the doctor, 3-year-old sister Dixie, plus Grandma Nancy Skinner and Grandmother Susie Croy. The older baby was named Nancy Sue and the younger was Norma Rue. Nancy weighed 4 pounds; Norma weighed 3 pounds.

"They were too small for a baby basket, so the grandmas made a cradle for the 3-pound baby from a Quaker Oats cylindrical box, lined with soft blankets and cotton. Warm jars of water were placed in the cradles to keep the babies warm. The kind of heat in the home was wood stove, and the father kept a hot fire and held the babies on his lap near the hot stove."

Obviously, both babies survived as the birthday greeting card for the sisters printed elsewhere in this edition suggests. You know Norma from her work at the Daviess County Assessor’s office and on the Gallatin board of aldermen. She also was Gallatin’s first woman mayor, which underscores J. Paul’s concluding quip: "The doctor was very nominal in his charge, as he only asked for $35 total amount, which made the girls a real bargain at $17.50 each!"

So, if only for a moment, think about a baby newborn in this world. Then consider the Baby born unto us, the Prince of Peace and Goodwill, who has no reason to measure time by birthdays, who was and is and will be forever and who welcomes us again and again to come unto Him. And as you do, and the more that you do, you’ll realize you are in the Christmas spirit, indeed. Merry, merry Christmas!