Friday, December 19, 2008 9:26 PM CST
Muessmans deck the halls of their home as a reminder of Christ's birth
By Bonnie Clark, Feature Writer
bclark@jg-tc.com
Ray and Leona Muessman of rural Charleston didn’t decorate a Christmas tree this year; they decorated eight of them — all sizes and shapes. And that number could climb.
“Christmas is the one time we never feel you can overdecorate,” Mrs. Muessman said.
Working together, they have decorated every room in the house, although she admits they haven’t done quite as much this year as in years past, and they don’t do much outdoor decorating. Outside, there’s a full-size tree on the front porch with multi-colored lights and red satin balls.
Inside, there are trees galore, including a blue tree, a ceramic tree, the family tree and a wall tree that gets decorated for other holidays, as well.
The blue tree, Mrs. Muessman’s favorite, is in a downstairs bedroom. Its all-blue ornaments match a blue Barjello quilt she made several years ago.
“I had it quilted by a woman in Arthur who did it in silver thread,” she said. “We just like the whole idea of the blue and silver room. Everything in the room is old, and every year we carry on the theme. We just do something a little differently.”
There is room in the large home for the couple’s collections that include her antique evening purses, glassware and dolls, and his vintage cars (he still has the ‘53 Chevy they took on their honeymoon and that carried their newborn daughters home from the hospital), garden tractors, and “all things John Deere.”
In addition to the trees, there are many other signs of the season, and everything is displayed with an artist’s eye.
“If I say I really like something, he’ll buy it for me,” Mrs. Muessman said. “I could buy it myself, but I’m probably too stingy. And that works both ways. We’ll buy things for one another when we won’t buy things for ourselves.”
The couple used to have a John Deere tree in the room they as a multi-purpose or work room. The room houses Muessman’s collection of “everything John Deere,” but they didn’t decorate the tree this year.
“We used to put up a silver tree upstairs that you put a spotlight on,” Muessman said, “and we had a purple tree — all purple ornaments, and a red and gold tree in the upstairs bedrooms, and we had an old-fashioned tree.
“When we were first married, his grandmother made us a quilt in shades of purple,” Mrs. Muessman said, “and I decorated a room around it, so we had a Christmas tree decorated in purple in that bedroom.
“We still have the ornaments for the purple tree, and for other trees we’ve had over the years,” she said.
The decorations the couple place on their trees include special ornaments such as the patriotic one for their grandson who is serving in Afghanistan; another that says “God Bless Our Farm”; a DAR ornament; a Statue of Liberty; one bearing the Seal of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod; and commemorative wedding anniversary ornaments.
When it comes time to store so many trees and hundreds of ornaments, the home’s three attics — over the original house, the addition, and the garage — make storage organized, if not quick.
The Muessmans, who celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary on Dec. 5, have lived in the two-story home for 28 years and are the third generation to live in the house built by his grandfather in 1910. The bill of sale for the lumber purchased by his grandfather is framed and hanging upstairs.
Muessman, 79, started farming for himself in 1948, he said. “Of course, I started farming with my father when I was old enough.
“This year was my 60th crop that I planted.”
Mrs. Muessman, 76, said that if a person is “as old as they feel,” her age varies.
“I think mentally, it makes a difference how you feel about things and if you’re open to suggestions and new ideas,” she said.
“We try to be, and I’m not saying we always are, but with five grandchildren, and three of them living within a mile and a half... Grandchildren can really rejuvenate you.
Mrs. Muessman helped her husband on the farm by driving a tractor, and was also employed with the school system.
“You have to be an idiot to do this,” she said while laughing, “but I was a substitute teacher for 20 years. That way I could always help him in the fields.
She joked that the key to being a successful substitute teacher was: “You don’t smile until recess. Especially when you’re just 5 feet tall.”
The Muessmans hope to continue their Christmas decorating for years to come, but have slowed down — well, made an effort to slow down — the purchase of more Christmas decorations.
On a recent shopping trip, before heading into a store renowned for its Christmas decorations, Mrs. Muessman had what she figured was a good idea.
“Before we got out of the car, I asked Raymond, ‘Do you think we should lock my purse and your billfold in the trunk before we go in?’”
There will continue to be a nativity scene in every room, and Muessman’s collection of lighted churches — currently around 18 — will be on display in the living room, plus as many trees as they can get decorated.
“We never really get tired of decorating,” Mrs. Muessman said, “because it’s always a reminder of Christ’s birth and that’s what it’s all about. That’s what we’re really celebrating.
“We never say next year we’re not going to do so much. What we always think is, maybe next year we can do more.”
Contact Bonnie Clark at bclark@jg-tc.com or 348-5727.
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