In 1915 the Pantagraph asked several of the leading ladies of Bloomington- Normal to tell the readers about notable Christmases they remembered.
Fannie Fell recalled the Christmas when the aunts of the family recognized that soon all the girl cousins would have no interest in their dolls as they grew up. The aunts went into action, having all the dolls mended, new wardrobes made up and a photographer hired to photograph the dolls in all their spendor, so that the girls could remember one last Christmas as little girls and all the joys that come from loving a doll.
Matilda Freitag Savage remembered a Christmas in Italy and the decorations of the churches, the glowing candlelight on the frescos and gilding. She noted that in Italy there was no tradition of gifts, but that the families gathered for a special feast on Santa Vigilia Day. Engagements were announced at this time and weddings would take place. Bells everywhere rang out and children chattered.
Mrs. J T Sanders told of her earliest memories of Christmas when she visited her old New England grandmother, and her grandmother objected to the ribbons on her bonnet. After scolding the young girl three times the grandmother finally snipped off the offending ribbons, alarming the little girl who later used the ribbons to adorn her dolls.
Another local celebrity pressed for an interesting account was Dr. Mary E Bradford. Dr. Bradford was born in 1857 in Selina, IL, the only daughter of pioneer residents of Illinois. She graduated from Illinois Wesleyan and then taught high school for two years in Dwight and Monticello. She then enrolled in the Chicago Women's Medical College (later Northwestern) and interned at Boston Hospital for one year before becoming a medical missionary to Tabriz, Persia. She resided in Persia for 19 years and established a hospital there under the auspices of the Presbyterian board of foreign missions. She died in 1935 in a Presbyterian home in Indiana.
Dr. Bradford described the different ways that Christmas was observed in Tabriz: not at all by the Muslims, and by the ancient calendars by some of the residents. The differing calendars caused some confusion, but one was still expected to make the proper visits to homes. She said one resident was so confused by the numerous dates of observances that he turned to his Jewish friend and asked him, "What day is your Christmas?" Dr. Bradford seemed to have a very open minded idea of Christmas celebrations, perhaps because of her exposure to other faiths and other ways of making religious observances.