Anyone who experienced going Christmas caroling with Mim hasn't forgotten the fun - I guarantee.
My memories go back to the earliest days, when it was a band of Grubbs & Roses, yours truly & Ian, Echols & Larry Behlert & other Alden Roaders, making the rounds of our neighborhood. Later, when the group went girls-only & expanded across the Pike, we'd pile into the van to make the more challenging round of families.
For years, we ended up back home - the "Come Again Cabin" on the edge of the Top Lawn - where Mom had a spread of goodies laid out for us & a big pot of her luscious cocoa ready to be ladled over marshmallows.
Both Mim & I shared a special fondness for those special times - they reminded us of The Bird's Christmas Carol & Carol, Brothers, Carol.
Somewhere in the middish '60s, Mim became friends with the Hanscoms. Their daughter-in-law & young grandson were living with them, while their son served as a ieutenant in Vietnam. Mim lent a hand with "Go-go," who was barely a toddler, and offered steady friendship during nail-biting days to the adults.
Richard & Dorothy lived at the very top of Fettersmill (next to where Jon & Beth live now). When they heard about Mim taking kids out caroling, they asked if she'd swing us over to their house.
They apparently expected to hear some cute but sort of rag-tag group. Their jaws dropped when we sang out in beautiful harmony - old hat for kids who had Ken Stroh as a music teacher & sang at chapel every morning! They kicked themselves for not inviting friends over, hadn't made a bigger deal of the moment.
They made up that over the coming years. Every year we swung by, they'd invite their family & honored guests for a holiday supper & a songfest. And they treated us royally.
Hanscom's was a beyond-yum string of bakeries ~ to-die-for cakes (worth a posting of their own), whimsical holiday nibbles unlike anything anywhere else, even Asher's chocolates. After we sang, there was always a great spread of nibblings for us & when we left, each caroler was given - personally, by Richard or Dorothy - a 1/2 lb box of chocolates!
Each year, the carolers & our audience basked in our mutual good fortune. If ever there was a win-win situation, it caroling each year at Richard & Dorothy's. They loved the caroling, we loved the chocolates!
Caroling was a tradition I continued for a couple years - with Mim close at hand - after I started teaching 6th grade. Again, we'd end up in the cozy pub room, singing in front of Richard & Dorothy, Ginger & Gordon & kids, and invited guests. Just like the days of Mim's club, we always ended with From the Eastern Mountains, Richard's great favorite. We gloried in the wonderful cookies from the bakery, hot chocolate with marshmallows - and each left with a huge smile on our face & a box of chocolates tucked under our arm!
Remembering Hanscom's: Last week, I placed our Swiss Colony order for Christmas. Among other things, I ordered a two-pound Dobosh torte - the closest thing I've been able to find to Hanscom's seven-layer cake (a childhood favorite). People who grew up in Philadelphia knew all about Hanscom's Bakery and its wonderful offerings.
One of my uncles was once the firm's head baker. Hanscom's Bakery closed its doors in 1984 after 101 years in business. Hanscom's also made tea biscuits which were a frequent sight around our house when company was coming.
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