SMITHFIELD — Most of us who celebrate Christmas have a cherished memory or two of the holiday.
Perhaps it was the Christmas that the best present ever was under the tree. Or the first Christmas with a child in the house. Or the last holiday all of the children were under the roof.
Below, a few Johnstonians share their cherished memories.
“I grew up in the northern part of the county between Shoeheel and Stancil’s Chapel,” County Commissioner Ted Godwin recalled in an email.
His father, Perry Godwin, was a rural mailman back in the days “when many people depended on their mail carrier,” and his dad was also scoutmaster of Troop 25 in the Bethany community, Godwin said.
“Every Christmas, he arranged to take us young boys around to all the shut-in widows in the community to sing carols and share some Christmas goodies,” said Godwin, whose father knew the women from his mail route. “He’d also take his harmonica and play some tunes.”
“That was our favorite part,” Godwin of his dad’s harmonic playing. “We weren’t much on singing,” he said of the scouts.