Monday, October 11, 2010

joy unclaimed

The leaves may have turned scarlet and the nights frosty, but in my childhood, fall was ushered in by the arrival of the Eaton's and Sears Christmas catalogs.
Our little town had no library, no shopping centre, and no television. The catalogues became all three. They were read from cover to cover like a book, wish lists were imagined and re- imagined, and hours of entertainment were extracted from their pages. Literally. I was probably not the only little girl who grew attached to the pictures of  babies and toddlers modelling clothing. Cut carefully out, they made wonderful paper dolls. Pages of toys and furniture were there for the taking too, and even parents if the need arose. I actually remember the faces of some of the clothing models and watched them age right along with me.
It was a sad day when Eatons discontinued their catalogs and of course, eventually their stores. They were a part of the rich cultural heritage of small town Canada.
We are so bombarded with media today that I'm glad there are still endless dreams left undreamed and unimagined joy yet unclaimed.

3 comments:

  1. And you make no reference to another common use, so they tell me, of the Eaton's catalogue. I was spared that, too. 3 cheers for rolls of soft paper:)

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  2. Ha,ha,ha.But were you spared the outhouses built for two or even three. There's a story waiting to be written.

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