A Cotton Mill Town Christmas: The Small Southern Town of Fries Rediscovers its Christmas Spirit

For seventy years, the little town of Fries, Virginia had rested peacefully on the space God had scooped out of the banks of New River. Past adversities; the Great Depression of the 30s, the devastating Flood of 40, the infamous Theater Murder in 41 had all been overcome. None though were going to compare to the disconsolation due to the events preceding the Christmas of 69. First came a hotly contested mayoral election between the suit Mill superintendent and the blue collar Mill worker that finishedin a tie, starting a boil that would continue to fester. Then the final blow to the town occurred when the corporate big wheelsnot only abruptly closed the Mill just before Christmas, but Scrooged the employees out of their annual bonus and free ham.It took an angel named Suzie and a Santa Claus named Sam, to remind the town of the true reason for the season. Together, they brought back the Wildcat Spirit of Christmas Past, restoring optimism to a town that had sunken into despair. For those of you who have never experienced it, learn what a country southern Christmas of the sixties was all about. The author has lived his entire life in the mountains of Southwest Virginia. In his writings he attempts to bring to the reader the joys of rural southern living.