Have you ever thought about how vivid a part of your earliest life’s experiences that smells play? The smells of tangerines, pork pies, turkey roasting, or maybe yeast bread baking in the oven that still linger fresh in your mind. What about the smell of crayola crayons on Christmas morning? Beautiful perfectly shaped crayons just before you used them or your little brother ate them. Crayola, that came in an orange and green cardboard standard box that held six crayons. Crayons that probably came from Ben Franklin’s on Main Street in Dexter. That in fact may have been there origin. I was convinced that the man in the red suit brought ‘em on Christmas Eve right down the chimney apparently through the wood stove. ‘Cause we didn’t have a fireplace or a furnace for that matter. We were pretty poor. We didn’t worry about that though and neither did Santa.

‘Course the crayons were great gifts along with black faced dolls that would be politically incorrect today that lay under the tree for my sisters. You know the kind of rubber dolls that every little white girl had growing up in the fifties. And of course for the pious in the household the perfectly attired black and white nun doll complete with little silver rosaries beads hung around their neck. I digress though, so leaping back to memories of smells let me return to that theme.

Ben Franklins smelled of fresh roasted peanuts and wet woolen coats during Christmas. It was in the days that Gordon’s store still stood where the Dexter Police Department stands today. And it comes to mind that they had a huge display of Christmas toys around the top shelf. The displays offered incredible treasures for last minute shoppers. There were bright blue glass eyed curly blonde haired baby dolls in cellophane covered boxes for little girls. And for good little boys, Daisy BB guns and silver barreled Roy Rodgers cap pistols complete with leather holsters and official looking sheriffs stars all bundled in the same size cellophane covered boxes. Of course the bright red Radio Flyer Wagons and sleds of every description along with orange flying saucers. Remember those babies that were impossible to steer especially on crusty snow? Gordon’s was right beside the A & P Grocery Store. A store that smelled of Eight O’clock Coffee ground to order half way down aisle three on the right. While coffee was ground, Mom might be seeing if the next edition of The Golden Book Encyclopedia had arrived.

It is easy to remember the smells that enriched the experience of Christmas morning I recall rising early to find new coloring books under the tree. The smell of crayons mixed with the scent of pine was magic. It was easy to believe in Santa Clause. In fact, more often than not the coloring books would be holiday oriented and include pictures of Santa Claus, reindeer elves and holly with berries. What a great guy and self-promoter Santa was, eh?

It wasn’t just crayons that brightened new coloring books though. There were watercolor sets in long, tin, hinged boxes that came with a red wooden handled black bristled paintbrush. The paints, like the crayons were basic colors .See them? Yellow, Red, Blue, Green, Black Brown too. Was purple included? The paint tin snapped opened to expose little colored circles with all of the basic colors. What wonderful chances I’d take mixing the colors together to discover different and more creative colors. Inevitably the water would be a grotesque brackish purple black. Christmas is still a distinct aroma. It still smells the same, wonderful and warm.

Merry Christmas! Fred