Insights and Delights of Christmas, Part 2
Ruth was an avid stamp collector and included Christmas stamps in the book about Christmas that she compiled
"It was in 1984 that I started to rewrite my book,
Our Heritage at Christmas, which I had mimeographed and published in 1967. I knew it would be quite a job when I decided to enlarge it from 132 pages.
"First I studied the Italian artists in order to enlarge the Madonna section. That led to other European artists and some Oriental Madonnas were added and a list of the U.S.A. postage stamps of a religious nature.
"Next I researched Christmas trees and their ornamentation in several countries plus the development of synthetic trees. Still I liked pictures to illustrate ideas; these had to be done simultaneously. Being my own typist, I had to plan very carefully the location of each picture and type around it.
"Three new sections were finally added: Christmas Observance at Sea, which most people have never thought about actually; Christmas in the White House, and the third was Christmas Art, Literature, Quotations and Thoughts for Us All.
"Of course, with any additions a new index was needed after all the pages were renumbered. Carefully I compiled 16 pages, single-spaced when typed, and proof read them before I took the manuscript to a commercial printer. The whole process took my spare time off and on during three years. I designed a new cover in colors and laminated it.
"Mother gave me a book on bookbinding so I could learn the techniques. I practiced the process by binding together some Extension Home Economics fact sheets and circulars. Finally the new manuscript was ready - 365 pages now. I decided on 100 copies after exploring other options.
"When I brought 36,500 pages home to check their accuracy, Mother wondered whether the house would ever return to normal, especially the living room. There were piles here and there as I assembled 10 copies at a time. Slowly I bound the copies and boxed them. It was a major undertaking and challenging, even if time consuming."
