History: Christmas Eve memories and Louise Crowninshield

BY KAREN GRACE, BOCA GRANDE HISTORY CENTER

For many years, Christmas Eve at the Louise du Pont Crowninshield Community House brought Santa and gifts. The Community House was opened in 1936. Mrs. Crowninshield “began hosting an annual Christmas pageant there for the children, whereupon Santa Claus would arrive with a sack full of toys,” according to a history of the Crowninshield House.

Nell Kuhl remembered that “Mrs. Crowninshield would choose the gifts herself from a department store up north, with each gift reflecting the personality of the child. If she couldn’t bring them south herself, she would send her chauffeur, Henry, to do the honors. Henry was Santa Claus for many years, until the children caught on. Then other Island men were called on to play the great Saint.”

Melissa Joiner Steyer remembers singing Christmas carols and waiting for Santa to come with the gifts. She says, “My mom Isabelle never missed a Christmas Eve at the Center until the Christmas before she passed in 2018, and that was a lot of years.” Melissa also remembers the cookies and juice that were served. She says the event inspired her to play Santa herself at the Community House, the Child Care Center and for the Christmas Walk. “I just do it for fun. It brings me joy.” And it brings joy to others.

Marvine Futch Dethloff remembers her sister, Laner, as part of a dancing group who were dressed like reindeer, wearing black leotards, and antlers on their heads which she thinks were made of pipe cleaners. And each had the name of one of Santa’s reindeer. Dave Carroll, who was tall and large and had a loud voice, played Santa Claus. Marvine says he was perfect. Johns Knight adds that all the kids went to get a present from Santa at what was “a big event for us kids with a lot of singing till Here Comes Santa Claus was sung” and he came through the door with his sack.

Betsy Fugate Joiner remembers Jake VanPatten playing Santa Claus when her children were small. The child wrote a letter to Santa, who then phoned the child at home to talk about his or her list. The children were very excited about the call. And she remembers going to Whidden’s after the Community House event for dinner and gifts with 35 family members from four generations. 

Celebrating a Christmas Tree Lighting

In 1954, the team of Kathleen Cannon, the first president of the Boca Grande Woman’s Club, her husband Marvin, Mary Frances Whidden Thompson and Nell Padilla Kuhl joined forces to move a tree from the Community House lawn to the grassy area north of the railroad depot and across from then-Whidden’s Grocery Store, now Hudson’s. The tree became the community Christmas tree for the next 79 years when it did not survive Hurricane Ian. Each year it was decorated, and its lighting became an important ceremony. The lighting included a program of Christmas music which in its early days included the Boca Grande Ladies’ Rhythm Band. Nellie Futch played the piano; Leah Addison was on the banjo; Pansy Cost played the melodica; and Mary Bernard, Janelle Johnson and Vi Abbott were the rhythm section playing spoons, a washboard and the jug bass. Timmie Smith led the singing.

The group included women like Pansy, who grew up on Cayo Costa, and Timmie from Baltimore who was also the great-great-granddaughter of Francis Scott Key, and had sung professionally in the Empire Room of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel before marrying and coming to the Island. The group loaded the Community House piano on the back of a truck and Timmie played it as the truck moved down Park Avenue to the lighting ceremony grounds. Betsy Joiner adds a memory of the “Little Saints Choir” led by Gena Teachout, who sang for the event. 

Milton Bell thinks he was six- or seven-years-old in the mid-1950s when he remembers singing songs by the tree on Christmas Eve. The December 24, 1954, edition of the Fort Myers News Press reported that “The community gathers each evening to sing Christmas carols.” The article also credits Florida Power and Light with providing the materials and equipment to light the tree, and the fire department with stringing the lights. Johns Knight remembers that “Most of the old families would come to sing and see the community tree lighting.”

Marvine Futch Dethloff notes that “Those who played instruments would gather and play carols.” And she remembers playing the melodica. “Then the tree remained lit every evening until after the holidays.” Milton says the area where the tree sits affects him every time he visits the island, because it reminds him of a Christmas season tragedy from his boyhood when Ronald Whidden died in a car accident at the curve in Grove City. He was on his way home from college to spend Christmas with his father Harry, his mother Marie and younger brother Harry, who was Milton’s friend. Milton remembers that the family came out of the grocery store and crossed the street to the tree lighting. Milton still gets a little emotional when he tells about approaching his friend to convey his sadness. 

Trisha Lowe also tells of the singing, sitting on Santa’s lap and receiving a gift, but she adds stories of the excitement of seeing “trees appearing in front of homes and later peeking into windows to see them fully decorated.” Other highlights were singing carols in her classroom while her third-grade teacher played the piano, making handmade ornaments for her family’s tree and taking the ferry to go off island to Christmas shop in Englewood or Venice.

She concludes, “We looked forward to the simple joys of the season that island life could offer.” 

Betsy Joiner adds memories of Christmas pageants at the Methodist Church, where she was usually dressed as an angel and one year sang a solo, “A Song in the Air,” accompanied by the Bowe family on piano. In later years, Betsy and Kathy Futch, Dee Wheeler, Shirley Johnson, Ruth Ann Spurgeon, Sharon Mckenzie and Jean Woods put on the pageants for the church. There was also a youth group that caroled around town before returning to the church for punch and cookies. And later, Sue Hoots organized caroling in the homes of some shut-ins and in the island’s restaurants.

There was a special Christmas tree at the Pink Elephant decorated by Ernestine Harrison, Dining Room manager during the 1950s and 1960s, a Spanish bayonet hung with white sand dollars. And in the 1980s, a grown-up Betsy remembers Christmas Eve at the Temptation, followed by midnight mass and listening to the Dirty Dozen men’s singing group. 

In the years of the later 20th century, new events arose. The Christmas walk where businesses welcomed the community and, of course, Santa made his appearance. The lighting of the Port Boca Grande lighthouse, and the Nativity play in the courtyard of Our Lady of Mercy Church, events that become our present and future memories.