Monday, December 26, 2011
By Karl Henkel
LIBERTY
It’s been more than six decades since the start of the Christopher family annual Christmas celebration.
Not much has changed — including the menu, the kitchenware and even the dining-room table.
It’s just gotten a whole lot bigger over the years.
It was 1950 when the Christopher Christmas tradition began.
There were 12 attendees: Glenn and Edith Christopher, their two sons, John Alden and Byron; John Alden’s wife, Grace Rochford; Byron’s wife, George Ann, along with a handful of others.
Slowly but surely the family grew, but the tradition stayed the same.
At its most recent gathering, on Sunday, more than 50 family members packed the Liberty Township house of Jason and Kristen Rock — Kristen is one of John Alden and Grace’s 27 grandchildren — for the latest get-together.
They now have hosted for four years, but the location is one of the few changes in past decades.
In fact, the Christophers have remained true to their longlasting traditions.
The menu is the same: turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberries, rolls, Christmas pudding and a family special — pineapples with sweet potatoes and marshmallows.
“We found the menu is appetizing to all ages,” Grace said.
The traditions are also the same. Grace buys each of the children a subscription to National Geographic, a tradition started by her mother-in-law and original host, Edith.
The family even uses the original dining table from 1950, though its fragility makes it more iconic than practical in the more than 60 years after its debut.
The China dishes also are the same — though the family has had to add to the collection to accommodate the growing number of new faces.
“It seems like every year there’s a new grandchild,” said Carol Bruchs Leedy, one of Grace’s nine children.
So how difficult is it to pull off?
Not so hard, Kristen Rock said.
“Everybody pitches in,” she said.
Timing also is key.
“We start thinking about it after Halloween,” Grace said.
Space, well, the Rocks have that covered.
In fact, when the Rocks were looking to move from Pittsburgh, hosting the gathering was one of the priorities in a potential home.
“We wanted to buy a house so we could accommodate a lot of people,” Rock said.
And a lot they accommodated, including young Jack Christopher, one of Grace’s 48 great grandchildren and the newest addition to the Christopher family.
This year’s dinner also had another special person.
George Bruchs, grandson of Grace and son of Gary and Carol Leedy, returned after a one-year absence while he served overseas in the Army.
“It’s our gift from heaven to have him here,” Grace said.