(EDITOR’S NOTE: Through Barbara’s sister, Shirley Confer Boatman, Ron and Barbara Confer Phillips once again share some memories of growing up in Hughesville during the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s. Ron Phillips is 89 years old as of last May; Barbara is 87until January 3, 2024)

Barbara: Oh, such nostalgia for Christmas Past in our hometown of Hughesville. We have thoughts of special foods and goodies, especially candies and cookies, which waft back into our minds as we move into the magical Christmas season of sugarplums and fairies.

Clear animal shapes on a stick, ribbon candy, peanut brittle, candy canes, Necco wafers, red cinnamon hats, white taffy, tootsie rolls–the big size in a bar– chocolate-covered cherries, the 50 cent Life Saver variety box from Haag’s Five and Dime Store on Main Street. One of the candies our mother, Murl Confer, made was divinity, a white nougat bite with walnuts mixed into it. The mixture of white sugar, salt, water and white Karo syrup had to be cooked the right amount of time, to be stirred and spooned out at exactly the right moment to form the little peaked white clouds. Same thing for the fudge she made. The Hershey’s Cocoa, white sugar, water and salt had to be cooked to the right second, vigorously stirred and poured out of the pan when the gloss was just right. She used a buttered pie plate and left the fudge to cool awhile to ‘set up,’ so nice clean squares of chocolate goodness could be sliced. It was very firm. She’d make batches of peanut butter fudge also. Most fudge today is different, and I wonder if anyone still makes the kind Mother did.

Of course, Christmas cookies were every homemaker’s specialty in those days. But our mother made her Sugar Cookies to sell on a regular order basis. She sometimes filled these cookies with mincemeat, my favorite. I make those same cookies every so often, and Ron and our daughter Kimm, who also lives in Las Vegas, fight over those cookies. I have to separate the cookies–and them– and mark two containers, so each gets his/her half of the batch! Our mother also made many other cookies, like hickory nut, peanut butter, chocolate chip and a round bite-sized morsel with nuts, and coated with powdered sugar. I believe they call them snowballs these days.

Althea Burk, my girlfriend Gloria’s mother, would make the best mints. We girls watched her ‘pull’ the cooled mixture to just the point of firming and then she’d lay the twisted green roll on wax paper to cut into little mints. Gloria’s father was known as “Burkie” and he drove the bulk mail truck between Hughesville and Eagles Mere.

Ron brings up a memory of Don “Red” Koch, his boss at Koch’s Radio and TV. He and Red went up to Chet and Beatrice Shaner’s on a TV call. After they fixed the TV, Chet asked if they’d like some cider. Ron shared that “Red said, ‘No,’ but I was 16 and spoke up with ‘I’ll try some!’ Chet went out by the barn and brought back a water glass full of cider. I drank it down like it was a bottle of Pepsi, and when I tried to get up from the table, I couldn’t move!” Red and Chet had some fun over that.

Ron also recalls one year when they all went home for Christmas, and Donny Myers came by Murl and Kenny Confer’s house to deliver grapefruit and oranges they’d ordered from a local organization’s fundraiser. Donny was so surprised to find some of the Confer girls and husbands there–like “the old days!” Donny was a mailman in Hughesville for several years.

And more from Barb–I remember from my younger days, our Aunt Eleanor (Mother’s sister) and Uncle Fred Kleeman, lived out in New Castle, PA, but they went to Florida and brought back fruit for the Hughesville relatives. That was always a treat. It was part of Christmas to have oranges in a bowl on the table and lots of different nuts piled up with the nutcracker resting on top of them.

Nanny, as we called our Dad’s mom, was always involved with us four sisters, making things at our house. We made the white styrofoam Christmas tree; a chickenwire base shaped into a tree form, each hole filled with wrapped candy; a snowman of foam, tree ornament projects that included sequins and felt and glue. She was a terrific grandma for figuring out how to do things, always creative, and was often at our house. Many remember Nanny (Edna Confer) as their Brownie leader.

I speak of the Confer girls as one unit because we were. Now, beloved sister Jeanne is in Heaven with all the angels who have gone before, and our sister Joan has been lost to all of us because of Alzheimer’s. Joan was a heck of a good cook. This is a tribute to her and all others who live on, not as she would like to, but very much a major goodness in what life has handed us.

These are our treasured memories as 2023 is about to end. May sweetness and goodness be under your Christmas tree and always in your lives.