ere another story.
Here a mild rivalry set in as ladies vied with one another to produce
the most admirable cake, and even a slight competition arose over the
ice cream. An area resident confided that there was some speculation
about which denomination's members owned cows giving the creamiest milk,
thus producing the "most sinfully rich" ice cream.[257] No doubt this
comparison diminished in importance when one was faced with the wide
variety of homemade flavors, using fresh fruits and extracts. Sometimes
in early summer the socials would feature strawberries along with the
ice cream. On a quiet summer evening, with the fireflies flickering like
beacon lights and a whispering breeze lapping at tableclothes and
skirts, these must have been particularly pleasant events.[258]

Significant holidays also brought about special church programs. At
Easter the churches were banked with flowers and a singular rejoicing
occurred, and on Mother's Day an appropriate program was offered. The
1926 service included a suitable sermon and original Mother's Prayer by
the minister and several selections by the choir, among them "When
Mother Sang to Me," "Don't Forget the Old Folks," and "Our Mother."[259]
The year's main celebration was, of course, at Christmas. Each church
had a Christmas tree, cut by an adult, but decorated with "feet and
almost miles" of popcorn strings by the neighborhood's young people,
including those just returning home for the holidays. The warm ambiance
of these services is evident in the following description, recounted by
Joseph Beard:

They always had the little people from what you consider the
primary grades on up to sixth or seventh grade recite some little
poem or some story or something of this kind. You nearly always had
a chorus or choir, small, of people in the neighborhood that would
sing Christmas carols. You always had a minister who read or
recited the Christmas story from the Bible.... The churches were
lighted with oil lamps, and they would put candles on the Christmas
tree, wax candles and they would light those wax candles and then
blow out the lights. It's a wonder we never set the church on
fire.... But there would be this beautiful tree with all these
lights on it, and hidden down under the tree somewhere would be a
great big crate of oranges. Santa Claus usually came in and ... he
would ring sleigh bells and walk down through