Oskar, the Christmas Tree Elf: A Christmas to Remember

Chapter 2: The Krupzer Family Farm

"Here we are!" Brad cheered as he turned off the road and began the trip up the long driveway. The path was steep, edged on both sides by tall pine trees. At the top of the hill they passed through a curve, and finally the three-story Victorian farmhouse appeared before them.

The house sat on the large flat top of the hill, surrounded on three sides by a miniature forest of Christmas trees that extended almost to the mountains that enclosed the small coastal valley. A large roofed porch wrapped around the sides and front of the house, and its heavy stone foundation was pierced with windows designed to light the deep basement. The main floor had tall windows with heavy curtains to keep out the cold, while double windows looked out from each of the five bedrooms upstairs. At the top of the house, dormer windows revealed the presence of the third-floor attic.

Though the house was large, it was dwarfed by old growth pines, fir trees and, on the north side, a few redwoods. With noon approaching, the light of the winter sun poured through the trees' branches onto the cold earth below. In the distance, the sky over the far-off mountains seemed to promise a winter storm that would bring a white Christmas for tomorrow.

Emma pressed her face to the cold glass of the car window and looked around with wonder. "Emma, it took your great grandfather Krupzer over ten years to build this house for his growing family, using stone and lumber that came from this very site." Brad recalled the family history as he parked the car. "His family had come to the United States from Germany many generations earlier and settled in Maine, but when he was a young man he couldn't find the land he needed to start his own farm and his own family there. So, in 1921, he moved to Oregon."

"Grandma always used to call him 'Papa Andrew,'" said Sue. She looked up to the porch and saw a familiar smiling figure emerge from the front door. "Oh, there's Grandma now. Let's say hello and get our things into the house."

As the family unloaded the car, Gus wandered off into the woods. Emma and Luke ran up onto the porch to get big warm hugs from Grandma. Then they walked through the front door and stepped into the large entry hall, where a solid wooden staircase led to the rooms upstairs. The kitchen and dining room were off to their left, and on their right side was the living room.

Emma entered the living room. Just to her right was a large stone fireplace, and in the corner was the tall octagonal bay window where the Christmas tree would go. The window looked out over the fields and the mountains in the distance. In the window bay, a pair of large model railroad trains were poised to run around a short, round platform with a large tree stand in its center. The tiered platform was designed so that one train circled a set of tracks on the floor while the other went around a heavy wooden disk directly above the first. Emma immediately recognized this as her grandparent's Christmas tree stand and ran over to admire the lifelike miniatures.

Sue entered the hallway just as the grandfather clock to the left of the stairway was about to announce that 12 o'clock had arrived. She was always reassured by the clock's constant ticking and thought of it as the heartbeat of the house. Sue set down the bags she'd brought in, walked over to where Emma was playing and set her hands softly upon her daughter's shoulders. The house smelled old and familiar. BONG! BONG! BONG!, the clock chimed. "On time," thought Sue, "and in a safe place."

"Luke, Emma, why don't you go up to your rooms and put your things away," said Grandma hurriedly as she accompanied Brad, who was carrying the rest of the luggage, into the house. "Meet me in the kitchen as soon as you can. Grandpa is already out in the barn sharpening his saw to cut down the Christmas tree. A big storm is coming, so he wants to find a tree as soon as possible. We can have lunch once the tree is on the porch." The kids ran up the stairs.

Once the kids were gone, Sue picked up the boxes that held their gifts. "Mom, where can we put these presents so the kids won't find them?" she whispered.

"There's room in the back of the closet under the stairs," replied Grandma.

A few minutes later, they all met in the kitchen, the warmest room in the house. Grandma had prepared hot chocolate that was warming on the old black wood stove. As they stood sipping the hot drink, Grandpa came in from the back porch carrying a saw and rope and burlap for wrapping the tree. He set them down by the door.

"Grandpa!" shouted Emma. She ran up to him and jumped into his arms.

"How is my little girl?" he said, ashe swung her around in his embrace.