Remembering the Christmas Day fire

I still have a very vivid childhood memory of a tragic fire on Christmas Day. Our whole family, including my mother and father and six kids, barely escaped with our lives. It was right after Christmas morning Mass when we all packed into the old family car and took off for Aunt Ruthi and Uncle Willie's house in San Bernardino. We all were excited as we hadn't seen our favorite relatives for a long time. Ruthi was the best cook in the family and on Christmas Day she made her very special foods for us all.

We were about halfway there when I complained of a smoky smell in the back seat of the old convertible car. My dad pulled off the road to investigate and we all climbed out of the car. Light smoke was rising from the edge of the upholstered rear seat. I watched my father pull up on the seat. When he did, it suddenly burst into flames as oxygen fed the smoldering fire. A hot exhaust pipe had somehow ignited the underside of the dry old straw upholstered seat.

The fire spread quickly to the rag top of the convertible and it completely engulfed the car within minutes. We had no fire extinguisher back in the 1940s and there was no one around to help us. Everything inside the car was totally consumed by the raging fire. We all walked to a gas station and called my Uncle Willie for help. When Uncle Willie arrived to pick us up I went with him to look inside our blackened car and the charred remains of the Christmas gifts that were stuffed in the trunk of the car. The festive cake that I helped my mama to decorate with a cherry on top was gone, melted away I guess. So was the little nun storybook doll that Santa Claus had brought for me. All I found was the charred remains of a baseball and the bat for my brothers.

We all cried together in our loss, but then our wonderful mother said we thanked God that we were not injured and that our family was still together. Our large family has hung on tight to each other and loved each other even more during the hard times in life. May God bless and protect families everywhere, especially during this Christmas season.

n Linda Monohan may be reached at 782-5802.