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Newspaper
Cedar Rapids Gazette
Location
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States of America
Date
Dec 25, 1939
Page
2
A 10 year old boy known as Leo, from a poor family, works after school in a bakery and buys Christmas gifts for three people in the local store with installments. The grocer urged him to save, but Leo says he finds joy in giving to others, a tale that arrived with holiday timeliness.
Hans Mirow and Pete Bystedt died when their air service plane crashed near Kaltag during a rescue mission. Rescuers reached the wreck a day after a dog sled found the aircraft buried in snow. The two men were brought to Nulato. a mother and infant from the other plane continued toward Fairbanks.
Three people were injured in separate Sunday crashes in Cedar Rapids. B L Dodge 45 suffered scalp lacerations and shock after a three car collision at Fifth Avenue and Third Street SW. Arthur Hennings 35 and Don Kennedy 35 were involved. Albert Johnson 67 sustained a compound arm fracture when his car struck a tree and left Memorial drive two blocks south of Mount Vernon road. Mrs Emmett Lyzette 45 and her daughter Marie were treated after a collision at Second Avenue and Sixth Street SE. Bingham cited obstructed view from another car.
The British fleet received a formal greeting from the Admiralty in London on Monday expressing appreciation for their determination and enthusiasm and wishing success to all who will be fortunate enough to engage the enemy.
The author argues that if Hitler’s invasion of Poland is real, Finland should receive the means to defend against Russia. The remark frames aid as a response to a broader threat and questions allied restraint. The tone suggests a call for decisive support in the ongoing conflict.
Pope Pius XII offers a five point basis for peace in a Christmas eve address urging sane members of all nations to ponder war aims and effects. He notes prayers for victory and peace as Europe marks wartime Christmas amid family hardship and wartime rationing. The pope also thanks President Roosevelt for appointing Myron Taylor as his Vatican envoy as a contribution toward a just durable peace.
In Jerusalem bells rang for Peace On Earth but were not broadcast outside due to European tensions. The Holy Land enjoyed a rare pause in Jews and Arabs fighting as pilgrims gathered at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity. Bonfires lit shepherds fields and a cave rite echoed the birth of Christ with a shepherds bread and meat ritual.
London based National Sun and Air association members wore stiff shirts at their annual Christmas party as a formality concession. The group described nude attire except for the shirts and held parlor games such as table tennis while noting the cold did not bother them.
Mrs Nat alia Modzelewska received a Christmas gift when she learned by cablegram that her husband, an officer in the Polish merchant marine, survived a mine explosion and was not killed. The news prompted her to stay in New Jersey where she was born after fearing his death.
Mrs Louis Marrons well planned surprise party for 100 children nearly failed when bus drivers arrived and parents refused to release kids fearing kidnappers. Welfare groups provided names under secrecy. After explanations, all children assembled.
King George VI delivered a Christmas broadcast from Sandringham urging peace based on security from aggression and respect for free peoples. He avoided naming nations but warned of powerful powers driven by aggression. A Cotswold shepherd introduced the king as the broadcast opened with greetings from the mother country, dominions, and services.
Cedar Rapids enjoyed a sunny mild Christmas with temperatures rising from 17 to 25 in the morning. Sunday saw a low of 20 early morning runs, then a high of 34 in the afternoon and 26 into the night, per Chambers Inskeep records.
A commemorative essay tracing Christmas origins from Druids to Germanic customs, honoring Francis of Assisi, Sankt Nikolaus, and Dickens. It notes the holiday as a civic, cultural rite in America, marred by prices, urging joint effort for a peaceful celebration.
Dr Cyrus Adler president of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America announced he wired acceptance to President Roosevelt's invitation to religious leaders to join in world peace efforts.
Hollywood actress Lola Lane, one of the Lane sisters, was severely shaken and bruised in a Saturday car crash. She was moved by ambulance from a hospital to her mother Cora Lane’s home to spend Christmas.
President Roosevelt spent Christmas as in many homes keeping family first. Four generations gathered for services at Covenant Presbyterian Church and a White House dinner with the 85-year-old Sara Delano Roosevelt and relatives. The day featured stockings opened by grandchildren and a turkey dinner planned at mid afternoon.
About 300 of an attacking 900 Russian troops were reported dead or frozen in ten below weather as shells rained on Finnish positions near Viipuri. Finnish forces held the line under Mannerheim as fighting continued.
A Leningrad district communique reports Dec 24 front activity with 971 Finnish dead and 35 Soviet prisoners. Soviet forces suffer bitter cold on the Karelia Isthmus as Finnish troops withdraw, while front-line correspondents observe a sparse Christmas in snowbound trenches.
In the Russo Finnish war near stalemate, Finnish forces shot down 18 or 19 Russian planes amid multiple battles. Christmas Eve raids targeted Viipuri Aabo Kotka and Tammeransalmi with no reported casualties and about 55 Russian planes downed in four days.
The Japanese navy declared a blockade of the entire Chinese coast on Monday, signaling a widening maritime pressure in the theater. The move follows ongoing hostilities and aims to restrict Chinese coastal access and shipping.
Berlin reports Christmas messages from Col. Gen Walther von Brauchitsch and Rudolf Hess declaring no peace while the Reich fights. They praise Hitler as front line commander and promise divine aid, with Hess calling for lasting freedom and peace after victory. Hitler reportedly appeared at the front, a break from his usual holiday dining.
Cedar Rapids police say Patrolman Earl Davis broke up a break in at the Joe Stark meat market after seeing Carl Sexton attempt the front door. Sexton fought Davis, was restrained with handcuffs, and was later hospitalized for a possible jaw injury and a fractured hand.
A daughter to Mr and Mrs Lyell Shellenbarger of 1115 Fifth avenue Marion was born Sunday at 7 30 p m at St Luke s hospital the only Cedar Rapids Christmas Eve birth. A son to Mr and Mrs Ogie Henry of 1847 Eighth street NW arrived Sunday at 2 48 p m at St Luke s hospital and a daughter to Mr and Mrs William Fry of Van Horne was born there at 7 15 am Sunday.
In a seasonal contrast, the narrator notes Europe’s blackout conditions versus America’s bright holiday display. He quips that Santa’s visit leaves telltale chimneys in Helsinki and Warsaw while elsewhere power fails.
A car carrying four Coe College students left Highway 64 west of Wyoming early Sunday, plunging into a ditch. George Navy of Berwyn died after a head and neck injury. Driver Donald Kroll of Chicago and Harold Wender of Chicago were hospitalized with serious injuries. William Stonebreaker of Elgin and L A Wendorf of Monticello were treated and released. The crash followed an earlier Cedar Rapids collision involving Kroll.
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