Editor’s note: First in a two-part series.
It may have been the height of the “Roaring Twenties,” but in Chattanooga, as in many communities across the nation, families struggled financially during the 1925 holidays. Then as now, the Salvation Army stepped in to organize food and toy drives for needy families. (The Army was founded in 1865 in London’s East End, arrived in the U.S. at Philadelphia in 1879, and came to Chattanooga in the 1890s. It serves millions in more than 100 countries today.)
On Friday, Dec. 25, 1925, the Chattanooga Daily Times reported that during the annual Christmas event at the Salvation Army headquarters more than 500 families with “hundreds more children” were presented with toys and Christmas Eve dinners. The event, organized by Adjutant Thomas A. Peart and coordinated by Fred Elliott, the shelter manager and a longtime Salvation Army employee, was proclaimed the “most elaborate in the history of the institution here.”
Families gathered in the large auditorium of the Georgia Avenue headquarters. As curtains parted on the huge stage, the display of two new large Christmas trees decked with multi-colored ornaments and electric lights drew gasps and applause. Around the trees were piles of oranges, apples and toys of every imaginable type for boys and girls. Elsewhere in the auditorium, food sacks inscribed with the Salvation Army logo and young people’s names awaited pickup. In previous years, baskets had been used, but today’s “larger dinners” with dishes for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and beyond demanded large commercial bags. The containers held chicken and ham, fresh vegetables and fruits, along with all the necessary supplies for several breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
Once the first group had been served, a second group assembled in the auditorium and was treated to the same Christmas cheer.
At 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve, Adjutant Peart delivered his Christmas sermon to a standing-room-only crowd of volunteers, community leaders and families. His concluding words echoed across the auditorium: “The Salvation Army has ever been a friend to the poor. Many of you were little children when the army started to give baskets, more than thirty-five years ago. Through the years, there have been changes and, no doubt, next year there may be more changes. Some may be missing and so I advise each one to think about what Christmas really means. It is more than a dinner or the playing of games and sports. The greatest gift is … the gift of love.”
After a week of concentrated effort in “boiling the kettles” at strategic locations in the downtown business district, more than $1,500 had been collected, which was used to supplement gifts from individuals, businesses and industrial facilities. Frank Evans, Robert Meadors, A. Figgins, Herman Miller, Harold Stiner, Miss Annie E. Peart and Lt. Jessie Souter coordinated the Red Kettle promotion. The Salvation Army’s holiday program extended beyond the Christmas Eve toy and food event.
At noon on Christmas Day, the headquarters’ doors were flung open. Hymns wafted from across the street, as staff and volunteers served a “turkey dinner to the destitute transients.” Crane and Company had donated the birds, and more than 110 “tramps” were served.
Other Chattanooga philanthropic organizations helped spread the holiday cheer. The Chattanooga Exchange Club partnered with the American Business Club in furnishing Christmas joy for Bonny Oaks School orphans. A huge Christmas tree dominated the main room, and Mrs. Ward, the retiring superintendent, was presented with a departing gift and a loud round of applause. Dr. and Mrs. William Keese, the new superintendent and his wife, were introduced, and they in turn invited Will Swan, his wife, and matrons for the “colored section of the home” to join in the festivities along with their charges. The Exchange Club also presented a radio set to the Florence Crittenton Home plus baskets to needy families.
One of the most exciting events for the city was the large “community electrical Christmas tree,” which had been set up on the lawn of the Hamilton County Courthouse by the Electric League of Chattanooga. City and county residents were invited to attend the lighting at 6:45 p.m. on Christmas Eve, designed to coincide with the moment President Calvin Coolidge lit the White House Christmas tree in Lafayette Park.
Most businesses and all public offices were closed for the Nativity, although the U.S. Post Office reopened at midnight Christmas Day for special deliveries. Civic groups continued their good works by distributing food and gifts.
Linda Moss Mines is the official Chattanooga and Hamilton County historian and chairs America 250. For more on local history, visit Chattahistoricalassoc.org.