Mom and Pat share a laugh on Christmas morning, 1976, at our house on Pryor Road in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. Image by Del Stone Sr.
I raided both my and my folks’ photos for images of holidays past for this Christmas Eve retrospective.
Mom and Dad’s Christmas tree in 1947. Dad was stationed at McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma, Wash. Image by Del Stone Sr.
My older sister Sandie’s Christmas haul in 1949. She would have been about a year and a half old. The Christmas tree stands in the background. I believe this too was at Tacoma, Wash. Image by Del Stone Jr.
Christmas in Vancouver, Wash., in 1954. Sandie inspects a “Christmas” tree. Image by Del Stone Sr.
Christmas in Biloxi, Miss., in 1959. From left is my sister Sandie, me, and my sister Pat. Notice the giant radio behind Sandie, and the Christmas tree behind the three of us. Image by Del Stone Sr.
Our toys beneath the Christmas tree in Biloxi, Miss., in 1960. Image by Del Stone Sr.
Before the days of manufactured Christmas decorations, people used to paint holiday scenes on their picture windows. This was painted on our window by a neighbor who used tempra paint to complete the rendering. Image by Del Stone Sr.
Firends of Mom and Dad gather for a Christmas party at our quarters in Royal Oaks, Spain, in 1961. Notice how well everybody is dressed! Image by Del Stone Sr.
My sister Pat and I play with the electric slot car set I got for Christmas in 1962. Image by Del Stone Sr.
This was our house at 107 Leila Place in Fort Walton Beach for the Christmas of 1965. Notice the brand new ’65 Mustang in the car port. Image by Del Stone Sr.
This was the Christmas look for our house on Pryor Road in Fort Walton Beach in 1969, the first year we lived there. Image by Del Stone Sr.
Our Christmas tree at the Pryor Road house in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., in 1971. Image by Del Stone Sr.
In 1974 we visited Sandie and Susie in Columbus,Ohio for Christmas. Their neighborhood put out a luminaria on Christmas Eve. Image by Del Stone Sr.
Susan (Sandie’s daughter), Mom and Sandie do some Christmas shopping at a mall in Columbus, Ohio, in 1980. I don’t know who took this photo.
Me and my then-girlfriend Sandee at Mom and Dad’s house in Fort Walton Beach in 1983. Image by Joyce Stone.
Santa drops by the house on Pryor Road in Fort Walton Beach in December 1984. Mom gives him a hug. Image by Del Stone Sr.
Mom and Dad’s Christmas tree in 1987. Fort Walton Beach, Fla. Image by Del Stone Sr.
Dad’s black Labs, Stormy and Boogie, pose for a photo near the mailbox decorated for the holidays by Mom. Notice the Christmas tree visible through the front window in the background. Image by Del Stone Sr.
Mom took this photo of the beach on Okaloosa Island and used it as her Christmas card to me in 1999. Image by Del Stone Jr.
The Christmas dinner table at Sandie’s house in Dayton, Ohio, in 2000. I don’t know who took this photo.
My Christmas decorations at my townhouse at Bienville Square off Hughes Street in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. 2005 Image by Del Stone Jr.
Mom and Dad’s Christmas table in 2005, Pryor Road, Fort Walton Beach. Image by Joyce Stone.
Christmas at Pat and George’s house in Crestview, 2006. Mom is sitting at the dining room table in the background. Pat and George’s son Michael’s kids, Olivia, Ryan and Madison, open gifts. Image by Del Stone Jr.
Mom opens a Christmas gift – a T-shirt – on Christmas Day, 2010, at the Pryor Road house in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. Image by Del Stone Jr.
My front door for Christmas 2013. At that time I was still at the townhouse at Bienville Square in Fort Walton Beach. Image by Del Stone Jr.
In 2018 I went with Tracey Steele and her son Julian to tour Northgate Subdivision here in Fort Walton Beach. Northgate homeowners always go out of their way to decorate their houses for the holidays. Image by Del Stone Jr.
A Christmas candle sits beneath a tree on Mom’s front porch in this photo taken in 2020. Image by Del Stone Jr.
Mom’s house and yard were deorated for the holidays in this 2020 photo. Image by Del Stone Jr.
