MY MEMORIES OF NASHVILLE AT CHRISTMAS

- January 05, 2014

For me Christmastime was magical growing up in Nashville during the 1950's and early 1960's. There were no malls and the vast majority of Christmas shopping was done downtown. Downtown Nashville was a madhouse with thousands of shoppers walking the streets. I loved the sights, smells and sounds of Christmas. Church Street was the epicenter of activity as well as 4th and 5th Avenue. There were stores like Castner-Knott, Harvey's, W.T. Grant's, Cain-Sloan, Woolworth's, Kress 5&10. I loved the Christmas lights and Nashville was aglow with them. The movie "A Christmas Story" reminds me of what Christmas was like in Nashville. As in the movie the Christmas parade was held at night. The route was from west to east down Church Street. My father's drugstore was at 17th and Charlotte. Our favorite place to watch the parade was in front of what was then Taystee Bread Co. at 17th and Church. My favorite department store was Harvey's. We looked forward to eating in the Monkey Bar Diner at lunch time. They had live monkeys in a cage and a carousel. This was maintained and operated by a Mr. Max Lowenstein who was a survivor of Buchenwald concentration camp. Harvey's even had a monorail that ran around the top floor of the store.

Daddy would give each of us five dollars to buy Christmas presents with. I could go to Woolworth's and buy everyone in the family something. Uncle Bud would get a pair of socks every year and granddaddy would get Half & Half pipe tobacco. We would always have our picture taken with the Harvey's Santa. I was scared to death of Santa and remember one year that I refused to even have my picture taken with him. Crime was a problem then as now. I will never forget the day that my mothers shopping bags, loaded with gifts, were stolen from her in the middle of Harveys.. She set them down for just a second and when she turned around the bags were gone. Mother found a pay phone and cried the whole time trying to explain to daddy what happened. Fred Harvey sponsored a beautiful nativity scene on the south side of the Parthenon. The people of Nashville flocked to see it on a yearly basis. It became a Nashville tradition. We would stand in a long line as we slowly filed past as Christmas music was playing from loudspeakers and the scenes slowly changed color. Nothing lasts forever. In the late sixties, and into the seventies and eighties mall's were built in the suburbs like 100 Oaks, Rivergate, Harding Mall, Green Hills, Hickory Hollow, and Cool Springs. This was to accommodate the thousands of people moving into the expanding suburbs and building of new homes in the greater Nashville area. The wonder of Christmas died in downtown Nashville. I am glad that I was able to experience it and I will always cherish the memories.