Gregory Aggeler, Phyllis Aggeler, and Shelley Harper

00:03 My name is Shelly Harper. I am 50 years old. Today's date is May 23rd, 2015. We are at Colorado Springs Colorado and I am here with my mother and father.

00:19 My name is Greg Aguilar AG Geller.

00:25 78 years old today is May 25th or 23rd, I guess 2015 and if you go on vacation you kind of forget the date in Colorado Springs, Colorado or Phyllis and I are actually from Grand Junction Colorado or daughter Shelly lives in Colorado Springs.

00:48 My name is Phyllis Aguilar. I'm 74. Today's date is May 23rd 2015 as he said we're in Colorado Springs, Colorado visiting jelly and have relationship to my to the partner is two partners Shelly Aguilar daughter and husband Greg Aguilar.

01:16 Alright. Alright, we'll start with what are females when you want to talk about holidays holidays in the families of the agler waking and of years. I think there's a good place to start is is Greg's introducing introduction to the yes family fighting family white and waiting is my mother's maiden name and my mother and father was just a holiday nut came from came from both the whole family texas-born eight eight children in the family and the holidays are about all they had to celebrate because it was during the Depression.

02:10 So when we were Greg and I were going together, but we were not even buried yet in college.

02:23 I'm not quite sure how I got invited to the first Christmas. Then that was the beginning of the holidays with the Winans and

02:34 Just a back up a little bit and you know what, I mean?

02:38 That you were interested in the Catholic faith. And so we went to your confirmation and then your mom was there just I was thinking that's going to be fatal.

02:56 Philips Hue go after him. He I'm already dating somebody else. So I don't care. I'm glad you changed over 54 years ago my family as far as Christmas holidays was fairly routine and open presents, but there wasn't really any excitement to it at all.

03:25 Alyssa's family was really exciting and happy it wasn't wasn't about material. Things wasn't about gifts. It was just

03:36 I guess the mysterious Miss have it, you know, especially your dad in for every holiday just about and she said she just lived for that and presents. Yeah, they were they were there but you going up and you never known a Christmas. Well, I didn't until I was in Middle School junior high when Grandma and Grandpa were in Pakistan with USA made grandma and grandpa being Jean and Whiting and silver wedding. Yes, and actually, has full name is Barrel Geneva Smith Whiting there's a librarian but when they were in Pakistan with USA, that was the first time that we didn't have our Christmas spirit with us because they were gone and that was awful.

04:36 Christmas in my life. That's a good point that do all about relationships and people because when we were away at college, and we borrow my brother's car and my brother's car in his credit card. I Drove all night to get back on Christmas Eve morning news about 5 in the morning. We pulled up and Felix was very brave. When I started pounding on the front door and then she's my dad's you can hear him on the outside of the house. The house was pretty Barry wouldn't really decorated in grocery been driving all night.

05:24 Then went to bed after saying hello and when we woke up the place was decorated in the lights are on.

05:34 In the kitchen right back to the Declaration. What did it look like every year Christmas everywhere must have my childhood. The younger child's head. There was a live Christmas tree before the artificial trees came in with lots of multicolored lights and then ornaments that were picked up over the years that had some sort of sentimental meeting. So it wasn't like you've got to set that all matched and did a fashion tree. He has all of these meaningful once it has been picked up over the years and I remember sitting down with as a grade school kid with my brother Brian and with Grandma and stringing popcorn together and cranberries together and putting those on the trees with a needle and thread

06:34 Christmas tree lot pick out a tree which was a production all in itself.

06:45 Get it into a stand and usually we would get one that would fit in the house. You know that that kind of thing. So it was people and experiences operations is is really hard to explain but the one thing that comes to mind is that Grandma had the Christmas Village. He had the small maybe he's sick since to 12 inch high ceramic buildings that she put together in the in the like a formation of the village and Grandpa built built her special special window box later in their life when they lived in Arizona stupid. She could put the village outside where it used to be a flower box. He turned it into a little flat place for the village to go outside when they were last

07:34 Right here in the bottom of it and then they set up artificial snow and actually operate the name of some kind of statue of Christopher Kris Kringle fellow. Whatever came about stickler. Now, what does that mean? I'm channeling grandma because stockings were always there and everybody had their own stocking with their name on it. And it's still a tradition that we still do is the first thing that you do on Christmas morning as everybody gets their stocking and gets the little surprises which are really fun.

08:34 And usually, you know, like maybe a little bitty flashlights when you're just fun stuff right into the Christmas thing of and the decorations. I wanted to talk about the year that they were living in Grandma and Grandpa were living in an apartment Highland Way Apartments in Boise, Idaho next to what was it? Julia Davis turn the other one Ann Morrison Park and maybe four or five stories Grandma. I will just call you Grandma is a stickler for Public Image and

09:19 Grandpa, I found a notice that Grandma had not seen it said rather than track your Christmas tree with the end of the season through the halls and down the elevator, you know, just drop it over the side of the balcony. And of course Grandma had no idea that this was acceptable and I'm really tired of this damn tree. I'm just going to stroll over something like that has a big thing that we wanted to talk about his grandpa still waiting. Love to Play-Doh and they weren't the sort of jokes. That would make you feel bad that he loved to play practical jokes. Yeah, and that was one of them in the other one. He played on grandmother. It's not so much Christmas, but it's short and I can give you a

10:19 Is Grandma dearly dearly wanted to be a gardener Greenthumb magician with plants and slowly boy couldn't keep a plant alive to save her life poor thing. And so she's in just sound so she got a really nice rubber tree plant that was behind the television and every once in a while Grandpa would come along and pull off one of the leaves and drop it for Grandma had one, but I can't remember now.

11:12 Cute go ahead with one that you know of LOL. We don't have to be Christmas. Will the one that I like about Christmas that poor grandma. Didn't know was happening was the story with the watch when we were when I was about 7 grade or so and every one thing about that is it wasn't Christmas with just an immediate family. It was an extended family. We have cousins first cousins that are like sisters and brothers and second cousins are the cousins. And so there was always somebody at at the house and when you're at 90 and Grampy's my mother's mother and father and that's wallet has Carl Elizabeth.

12:03 Jaylon Smith and Wallace Crawford Crawford

12:10 Don't do I have a Jones married to leave under and my dad poor grandma. She was a the butt of every joke all through our of life, and she she was kind of wanting something really good in there was a candy store in town called Lee's and she loved these candies and so he went to Lee's candy. He bought her a watch Bulova watch back in the fifties and had them insert a little box inside inside the inside of the candy box of candy and then he wrapped it up in a tissue that it was clear enough that she could see the leaves candies on it and she kept looking under the Christmas tree for Grandpa's gift from her before.

13:09 And they got his opening their gift. We were all around here there probably 10 people around the Christmas tree and and she says she has your jean. Here's yours. This is from Phil and it has this box of candy.

13:28 Oh, she was just almost in tears. And so it will open it up. I'd like a piece of candy will have it later.

13:39 I couldn't get it to open it. Finally. She opened it up and then she found the watch and of course, she just collapsed hadn't found this heading into the Christmas spirit for that reminds me of something because we've had talked recently about I have the short diaries that both Grandma and Grandpa kept when they were with us Aid in Peshawar Pakistan, right and in Grandma's diary, which is much different than Grandpa's which is this is a work log. This is what we did and there's only a few really interesting tidbits in his but hers was all about what the women were doing while the men were working and there's a section in the diary when Grandpa caught a really bad case of pneumonia and they were he wasn't getting better and they came very close to airlifting him to Frankfurt Germany for treatment, but he fortunately got better quick enough that they didn't have to do that, but apparently he was sick.

14:39 Around her birthday and you can just see this Sort of hope that that's there and it's really kind of sad actually because she's really concerned about these writing the diary. She's really concerned about my grandfather and then on her birthday on this is a diary that's got date days, and it add a reminder on her birthday it she said

15:05 And then I think it said forgot or didn't remember something and then she didn't finish the sentence which is the only unfinished it diagonally across very everything else is very tidy. And I think he was too sick to remember her birthday and she was so disappointed, but she couldn't really be disappointed because he was so sick. She can only write half of the sentence in this diary is I don't think I can read those diary. So yeah, it's interesting the Christmas that Don Ryan my son our son and his new bride got married and Don's family has she has

15:51 33 grandmother's 3 a month mother and father were divorced and then and then both remarried and her great-grandmother was really important in her great-grandmother who lived in Lyman and so so they had to make the circuit all the way from couldn't even eat and then there's always the big debate between our family and and their family because we're in open Christmas presents on Christmas morning family dance family is an open Christmas presents on Christmas Eve family. They were really big

16:41 High-value Christmas present people

16:51 I mean it just go glassy they get so many presents for grandmothers and grandfathers and grandmothers and to two or three of those and ants and two little girls. They were the first grandkids Aaron and Meghan Christmas we came to your house but were you married way then meet us when we came with it was Thanksgiving that was Thanksgiving and he and you were either just barely you weren't married cuz he had a we had a place and you still had that little apart. So right that was right at the beginning and so we checked on down to Austin from Denver and you and we you and I in this little-bitty apartment kitchen decided to bake a 20lb turkey.

17:52 Defrost a 20 pound turkey that's not nearly as bad as trying to cook a 20 pound turkey on preheat preheat host the whole thing. I'm free the post Thanksgiving feast.

18:29 Eastern to our family was not going to be a family with Grandma and Grandpa and your sister Sue and Brian and I was not so much a religious holiday as again family and relationships, but really what it meant was the famous Easter egg hunts and the reward is you had a drink called an Orange Julius made the drink up you couldn't have you drink until you found your Easter eggs with your name on it, and that was vicious and we recently had Sue and Dean and Bob and the kid their two children and my mom and dad and me are teenagers the best one the very best one will let me or teenagers Grandma and Grandpa couldn't come as much as we would have Christmas as we had Easter's that were just you you and Brian and I

19:29 Usually we go to dinner at Sue's right. And so we were trying Brian and I would try to recreate the fun competitive Easter egg hunts that we had with all those other people and so we had to make it into we were old enough to do that. And so we decided to pick on Poor Dad and we found some extremely South shall we say creative hiding places where Dad's egg with his name on it. You couldn't find anybody else has a good to find you were egg. I remember I thought that was interesting the way you put the names on the eggs is he would take a crayon that was waxy and put the right the name before you died it and so then the name would show through but anyway, so we get to find your very own egg and the two hiding places that I remember from those crafty teenagers when we took off the finial of one of the curtain rods and put the egg inside and put it back up.

20:29 Can I have the house nearly Torn to Pieces trying to find that if any did find that one but the one he didn't find never find who we think this didn't work.

20:51 Was floating Scotland. We took a little bowl and floated it in the toilet and put the egg inside the bowl. So it's fine. Yeah, that was beyond the pale yellow the orange that was good. Fairy didn't come back in and then put it in there and people would give you a chance of discombobulated was on the bottom. It's so the ones that you would pick up we're fine that's for rent sign on the big couch in the family room and put

21:51 I know I remember coming home and seeing the the clear message of to Tunis. She says this house has been turned into a house for two people and you were not nearly enough when I went off on the youngest when I went off to college you while did just that was wonderful. Oh, what am I doing in Denver? And I'll head on over to he was kind of a jerk and my mom's father who always had a nickname for her boyfriends and so Dad.

22:51 Has been ever since in our family still the jerk. So this blizzard in Denver and whenever to visit Phil Christmas Eve to exchange presents Little Blue Bloods wagon bug and there was a big hit the city that night and I stayed late and so I was driving to get home for Christmas which was really important to me because you just don't I think we still had some family there know we were supposed Bentley. Nobody could go anywhere. I mean it wasn't one of those desolate Christmas is when when grandma and Grandma and grandfather, I thought it was just us four, but I was driving home in this little Volkswagen Bug very light and there was Orchard Road. I think there was a road that I had to get to go through. That was a very steep.

23:51 Angel in a very steep hill and so I let this week and went zooming down hill trying to stay on the road and I passed by cars that were second. I felt really guilty that I didn't stop but I'm thinking I'm not stopping and so my car was light enough that it got up that hill fortunately and I got no home for Christmas, but I was going to come looking out the Note cell phones in those days don't make sense is getting heavier and heavier and heavier and pretty soon and I'll show you the house. I think we were just at 4 in the house. We're supposed to go to Sue's for dinner. Oh, yeah scene Evergreen.

24:49 Lakewood Lakewood so they Brian was home from Fort Collins from college Colorado State and he was just happened to be homes, and I tied a rope around his leg and he could go anywhere. It was interesting and hard to keep him tied down. So we got chili in the house and and we were all together four of us and we're going to go over to Sue's the next day four.

25:20 Christmas and no we couldn't go anywhere completely down. I mean right in front of her house all they were all shut down if it was just the four of us. And so we played Monopoly aminos to the captive audience for Mom and Dad you loved it cuz it was friends. Yeah. That's all I was Ben Bryant agent had buddies stuck at the airport couldn't couldn't get back. And so he's going to go out and get him. So he's got his car buggies going to drive out and that's what you can't go out there. And so does Carl make it you can even get out of the driveway as mom says don't make me get out the Rope.

26:08 So he was totally Captain. He couldn't move yet. It was that was an interesting Christmas. One thing that I wanted to mention to you about holidays was the food. Oh grandma is was touch and tastic cook the entire there was all Southern text it to text. They were from Amarillo and in the cooking from all that whole family. My grandmother Nani was just an incredible cook and all of them all those sisters were and the custard. Okay. So so this boiled custard if you grow up with it, it's magical is just wonderful delicious. If you don't grow up with it as dad did not end as my husband Wade did not it's not what you would call Magic.

27:08 Size of their cousins to be able to have some but it took forever to make it took about seven hours. Do you have to stand at the stove and stir boiled custard? If it's a Southern dish eggs and milk and cream filling in a vanilla cream. Maybe I don't know but you had to keep stirring it so that it wouldn't burn Christmas. So she would stand for hours at the stove stirring the spot of custard and then all of us are just salivating waiting for the custard to be done and Dad or anybody else who didn't go over there like you was always a great that's more for me.

28:08 Tom and Jerry mix one of the family guidance it okay year old nephew. I'm going to show you how to make this.

28:25 Other people do Tom and Jerry's but they they get in a rush. They don't take your time and do it. Right and so I'm going to show you how to do it. My brother never really followed up after that. But I really got into making me what it is is Tick eggs and separate them. And then you spend a lot of time just with the egg whites and build those

28:51 Every time you change from an egg white to an egg, yolk. You have to clean the beater keep everything just like surgically clean. It probably takes work to powdered sugar in just takes forever. And then what you do with the Tom and Jerry topping is you make a combination of Christian Brothers Brandy and in some kind of a rubber band mixing meter 221 full about it is a Christmas drink is she

29:30 With that topping and being so sweet people would just really want to put them away. But that's truth Christian Brothers Brandy and rum where they are too. Nice about it is if you leave it alone for a while, you quickly they don't get your head clear and that kind of thing so you could drive home hot water, you know, people just go crazy over it and some people would overdo it party where you invited almost everybody that you know, and they would wait with anticipation like we would wait for the custard they all the way to the Tom and Jerry's and want to have some well I restart way before people would come because you couldn't be making at least

30:31 When we lived on Hot Springs Drive In in the had to borrow an egg beaters to buy him a new beater. Throw it all out.

30:48 Jerry's is where

30:51 Knotty Headz

30:53 And so she has pretty good. And so she had to or even walked into the door frame it all so smooth and it didn't even but that reminds me of another famous story of the mincemeat pie in Seattle.

31:29 Yeah, we were in Seattle while I went to the University of Washington undergraduate degrees and

31:39 How much you we had? My tea is dad's sister? Okay, anyway, but you tell us how you made that and then when it's still warm up before you put the way you put the crust on that you put before you put the crest on the top you put sprinkle some Brandy on top of it like that. And then you put Crest on it and you bake it. Well, we've been drinking Tom & Jerry's.

32:39 Bunch of Randy in there Harold had a power supply that got better by age.

33:05 What were some of the ones after that weren't Christmas most of those stories were from Christmas? Yes. So my grandmother made these absolutely delicious and one-of-a-kind homemade cinnamon rolls that everybody was just like a boiled custard everybody wanted some and there were finally we had the last cinnamon rolls were billed out around the table and Grandpa and Grandpa ate his down and Grandma was was very carefully feeling outside all the way in and warm and juicy and she gets all the way down to the heart of the cinnamon roll and Grandpa puts it out of her fingers and eats it and believe me you do that.

33:56 Look on your face because there wasn't any more no one's ever done. They're still married.

34:16 Quite a bit different than I seem to have quite a lot of fun five minutes of any of them. That weren't Christmas Story. I just actually posted the picture of this on Facebook might for unknown reasons because when I was we weren't church goers when I was at home growing up, but friend and that it was Grandma. She would always make my brother and I are out at this very nicely laid at Thanksgiving dinner table with a turkey on the table should always have to sit down and pose. Like we were praying know it would put on that day. We would pretend like we were praying Norman Rockwell pictures of Praying sort of

35:16 Right inside. I put that on Facebook. And of course all the cousins were commenting and one of them said yeah, how do you know that you weren't pretending to pretend to pray that brings up another Christmas story was coming down blizzard. We had everything and pie and cake and everything, but they did not have any ice cream got out and got in the car and just drove around town really happy after an hour. Later.

36:08 Sitting at the table ready to have dessert and an atheist journey to find ice cream. Are there any Fourth of July always said that was Dean's birthday Dean's birthday and I can't right now my head top of my head. So I remember being up in the Evergreen for the 1976 Fourth of July and everybody was there yes, but we were coming down the hill at after dark. And so we never got to see the fireworks on this 1976 Bicentennial Fourth of July. I was so disappointed that I want.

37:08 Sitting in the backseat of the car driving down the mountain down to Denver thinking great. I had to live to be a hundred and eleven before I can see the fireworks for the 4th of July. The Avon are you and even though I don't remember it was Fourth of July at Dean and soon the family everybody to the dean's family there a Von there's this big lake and we were staying in the lodge where you could just walk right out and get seats down rhinos just all beautiful night beautiful night to have the fireworks right over the lake and all of a sudden this mother and Mom and Dad Grandma and Grandpa were there and his wonderful Aroma came floating out warm beautiful night and stars and the fireworks and it's wonderful Aroma and my mother could not figure out for a little life.

38:08 What the heck? Is that smell? Of course, it was marijuana was telling the lady said holiday people even though mom never let you forget the ice cream Journey. I've noticed that every time we have any sort of gathering we always have ice cream now loves to get together people that relationships the stories that the the jokes of fun.

39:08 Then we could borrow for Harold. We left Harold and his wife and your mom and dad for Christmas holiday. We were just first married in Seattle and borrowed his car and Credit Union credit card and drove to Boise, So I really feel bad about that. You never felt that tired. I was

39:58 When does very dad's lucky but I'm lucky to that we had such a great relationship based family that to have all those memories with family. It really was sitting in in the house with all the all the presents and stacked up like Don's family did the same to have the same thing. It's that feeling inside that bite in a bite every one of them.

40:37 So we're at a time. Okay, so thank you for all of the holidays.