By JJ Lamb
Arizona made Christmas official in 1881, eleven years after it was declared a federal holiday in 1870. It was not the commercial event that it is today. Having enough toys to actually have a toy box was almost unheard of. Boys may have received homemade marbles of baked clay, glass aggies or coveted steelies as treasured items. Some also had a jack knife to play Mumbly Peg or a homemade wooden whistle. Very lucky girls might have a porcelain doll. They were so special that they were hardly played with. Homemade cornhusk, paper, or broom straw dolls were more common.
Creative ways were found to duplicate the traditions many had left behind in Europe. Teenie Bachman, an Arizona immigrant from Germany said “…we had no Christmas tree at all. We just sat around singing German songs and crying. It didn’t seem at all like Christmas.” Someone else recalls making a Christmas tree from tumbleweeds. Others recall using branches from native trees. These substitutes were decorated with strings of popcorn, paper chains and cutouts. Special foods would be set aside and saved to enjoy on Christmas. Oranges, apples, nuts and maybe a peppermint stick would brighten a child’s Christmas morning.
During the 1870’s and 1880’s the Mountain Springs Stagecoach Station and Mountain Springs Hotel operated near what is now the La Posta Quemada Ranch, one mile south of Colossal Cave. The Mountain Springs Hotel advertised a special Christmas Day menu in 1882. Christmas Dinner was served at 2:00 pm in the hotel dining room. The main course was wild turkey served with beans, brown mashed potatoes, scalloped tomatoes, creamed onions, sourdough biscuits, and freshly churned butter, with eggnog, coffee or fresh milk. Dessert consisted of plum pudding, mince meat pie, and homemade candy to include buttermilk fudge, prickly pear jelly and brandy. There is no record of how many guests were served or who they were, but they surely would have enjoyed such a wonderful meal.
The Mountain Springs Hotel was operated by Civil War veteran Soloman Lick. He was 5’6”, brown haired, blue eyed and originally from Illinois. He had served with the 63rd Illinois Infantry. On his enlistment record he is listed as 18, although he was probably closer to 16 at the time of his enlistment. The hotel burned in the late 1880s. This holiday season enjoy a taste of Vail’s past by making a batch of Buttermilk Fudge.
Mountain Springs Hotel & Stage Stop Buttermilk Fudge
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups fresh buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans
Mix soda into the buttermilk and let stand for 3 minutes. Cook all ingredients together to the soft ball stage. Cool slightly, beat until it loses its gloss and thickens (it is very easy to beat it too long!) add nuts and pour into a dish or pan that has been buttered. Cool, cut into squares, invite friends and enjoy.
vailpreservationsociety@gmail.com
J.J. Lamb is President & CEO of Vail Preservation Society. A U of A graduate, her family has lived in Vail since 1971. She was named an Arizona Culturekeeper in 2011 and an Arizona Friend of the Humanities in 2020.
