Written by Eugene
Christmas has always been special with the Jones'. Some of my fondest memories are of waiting for Santa Claus to walk out of the hallway at Inglenook and into the living room with a loaded sack of gifts over his shoulder bellowing a loud Ho Ho Ho!

Another favorite memory is the full size Nativity my Father handcrafted. Every Christmas season when we lived in Valley Stream he would lovingly re-create the scene of Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus in the stable. It didn't matter how cold it was or whether there was two feet of snow on the ground- it would appear. He loved to do it, and continued the tradition of decorating our home each year without exception. That spirit has remained within me. I think of him every year as I bear the elements to string my lights and hang the garland outside my home.

Written by Anna
Christmas 1943 was my first official Christmas as a member of the Jones family. Joe and I were married on January 16th of that year and Helen was born the following November. Our first Christmas we lived in a beautiful apartment on Beverly Road and E. 28th Street in Brooklyn. Helen was only 1 month old, but her father still assembled a beautiful train set around the tree, just for her. He went to a great deal of trouble in doing so, but it was a "labor of love" for his baby daughter. (Of course Joe enjoyed it more than she did, but that's beside the point.)

The next Christmas Joe was not home, he was in the Army overseas fighting in WWII. But once he returned, he carried on the Christmas train set tradition for years to come.

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Home in Valley Stream and close-up of Nativity

Joseph III with his father's train set