Merry Christmas 1966 from US First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson
“I’ll start this interview by saying with Lyndon in the White House, my favorite roles as First Lady are decorating the White House Christmas Tree and supporting my national Wildflower Initiative to save America’s native plants and beautify our landscapes. I’m combining those this year by decorating our White House tree with hand-painted wildflower ornaments. Did you like the sneak peek I gave you?”
“Absolutely. You’re outdone yourself and we got great photos. How did you choose the tree?”
“That’s my favorite part. I love a good love story. Don’t you?”
“I’ll say! And so do our readers.”
“Our White House Tree, like the Rockefeller Tree, is chosen through a contest with growers all over the country submitting their trees. This year it boiled down to two neighboring farms in Wisconsin.”
“Neighbors? Imagine the competition.”
“Even more when they’re feuding because one’s Norwegian and the other Swedish.”
“That sounds like a bad movie. I can tell where this is heading.”
“Not this time. This one’s different. The Norwegian’s forestry major niece, Marcy, and the Swede’s financial planner son, Kris, dated in high school and he’d carved their initials inside a heart on the trunk of one tree before they graduated and went separate ways.”
“How sad.”
“But if a romance is meant to be, it works out.”
“You’re right, Mrs. Johnson. So more was going on than raising Christmas trees?”
“Call me Lady Bird, and yes there was.” Her dimples flashed. “But let the young people share their story as they told me. Marcie? Fill our reporter in.”
Marcie: “Sure. Uncle Halvor’s problem with tree blights inspired me to study forestry to find answers. When the blight and his finances reached their worst, I arranged to do my last university semester at home to help. Now Kris should tell you his part.”
Kris: “Gladly. When Dad sent an S.O.S. that he needed me home short-term or our farm could go under, he didn’t say Marcie had come back.” He squeezed her hand. “That was a great surprise. It didn’t take us long to reconnect.”
Marcie: “I’ll say. And then Kris told me about the contests and if we competed to supply the White House Tree, it could increase sales and publicity.”
“Even though you knew only one of you could win?”
Kris: “That was the hardest part. At first I promised myself I’d go back to professional life in New York City if it wasn’t the Lundquist Farms tree. But by then I was loving our small town more than ever—and also a certain special forestry major.” He gave Marcie a quick hug. “Until I finally realized there was something I could do about who won.”
“What do you mean?”
Marcie blushed. “Don’t give it away, Kris. Make them read our story.”
“You’re right.”
Lady Bird: “They’ll love it when they do. And I’ll do even more when you two come see me again after Christmas.”
Kris: “You will?”
Lady Bird: “Yes. You didn’t think the fun would end here, did you?”
Marcie: “Wow. I can’t wait to find out.”
Delores Topliff grew up in Washington state but married a Canadian so enjoys dual citizenship. She teaches Christian university classes online, travels, and published children’s books and non-fiction stories before finding her stride writing historic fiction. Books Afloat, Christmas Tree Wars, Wilderness Wife, and Strong Currents have been published since January 2021. Delores loves her two doctor sons and five grandchildren and divides her year between a central Minnesota farm and the gentle climate and people in Northeastern Mississippi. I used to make fun of snowbirds and now I am one.
Learn more at:
Website: https://delorestopliff.com
Blog: https://delorestopliff.com/blog/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DEToplif
Twitter: @delorestopliff
Instagram: delorese.toplif
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