Rogue Valley Christmas celebrations have changed in the years since the first pioneers and miners arrived in the 1850s. As populations grew and stores opened up, families decorated Christmas trees with popcorn, candies, handmade hankies, paper chains and candles. Stores’ windows advertised dolls and carriages for girls and wagons and knives for boys. Churches held special services.
Newspaper advertisements in 1910 began promoting gifts for adults such as silk stockings, jewelry, and satin slippers. Mayor Vernon Emerick lighted the first official Christmas tree in Medford in 1915. Boys wished for electric train sets in the 1920s, but during the Depression of the 1930s, few parents could afford to spend $3.98 on them. Handkerchiefs and books were popular items. The streets were still decorated and Santa still arrived.
During the Second World War, communities suspended public celebrations, but families observed the holidays in their own ways. Dolls dressed as toy soldiers and nurses appeared. In 1953 merchants again organized a parade through downtown Medford to open the shopping season. The parades continued through 1957. Medford revived the Christmas tree tradition in 1990 and the parade in 1999.
The traditions have continued until today.
Sources: Dufer, Lee. “Lee Dufer Reviews Early Christmases.” Table Rock Sentinel Dec. 1980: p. 11. Print; “Since You Asked.” Mail Tribune. [Medford, Ore.] 16 Dec. 1999. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.
