When he was just a tot, Iola High School principal Scott Carson and his brothers would tromp outside their family’s farmhouse near Parsons on a very important Christmas Eve mission — to scatter food for Santa’s reindeer.
They would then snuggle into their beds to listen for Santa and his reindeer alighting on the rooftop.
Eventually Carson learned that it was his uncle, in league with his parents, who climbed onto the roof to add to the magic of the holiday.
“My parents always went the extra mile,” Carson said as he recalled some of his favorite Christmas memories.
The holiday meant gathering with a large extended family on both his mother and father’s sides. Carson is the middle of three boys.
“I was blessed with lots of family.”
His father, a teacher and coach, moved the family for his job but always called Parsons home. They spent Christmas Eve with Carson’s paternal grandparents who lived in the country “right on the Neosho River.”
“We always went to Mass on Christmas Eve and then everybody would go to their house,” Carson recalled. “She had a big tree and my grandpa always wore a Santa coat. They had presents for all of us and we’d have dinner. There was a fire going. It was cozy.”
On that side of the family, Carson had about 10 cousins. He was one of the older ones and he enjoyed playing with cousins who looked to him as an example.
The next day was spent with his mom’s family in Fredonia. There, the roles were reversed with Scott and his brothers surrounded by five older cousins.
“We thought they were all really cool,” he said.
His parents “always got us cool gifts.” He remembers one year his mom gave him a Walkman with cassettes and blank tapes, so he and his brothers could record the songs they liked on the radio.
“We had to sit by the radio and wait, and the DJ always ruined them because they talked at the beginning and the end.”
HERE’S the thing about traditions, though. They evolve.
As the years passed, some family members passed away. Others grew up, got married and had children. They formed new rituals.
In Carson’s opinion, after his mother passed away a couple of years ago the holidays on that side of the family haven’t been the same.
Carson and his wife have five children. One is still at home, some are in college and some have jobs. It’s difficult to find a time for everyone to get together. It might not even happen on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
