Back in the '30s and into the '40s, WGN radio in Chicago broadcast a 15-minute kids' program that ran from Thanksgiving to just before Christmass. Called "The Cinnamon Bear," the 26 episodes followed Jimmy & Judy Barton, together with Paddy O'Cinnamon, as they entered a make-believe land where they met such characters as the Crazy Quilt Dragon, the Inkaboos, Penelope the Pelican, the Wintergreen Witch, and a host of others. The journey was taken to retrieve the Silver Star which was to be placed at the top of Jimmy & Judy's Christmass tree.
Of course, it was a delightful children's story. In the end, it turned out that Jimmy & Judy had dreamed this whole adventure in the attic of their home where their Christmass ornaments were stored.
Sometime in the 1940s, Wieboldt's Department store in Chicago gave away a replica Silver Star to any kids that came into the store. I dearly wished to have one of those stars, but, living 100 miles from Chicago, I wasn't about to be able to get one.
Fast-forward to the late 1970s. I now lived in Chicago and regularly listened to "Those Were the Days," a nostalgia old time radio program hosted by Chuck Schaden on Saturday afternoons for four hours. Chuck regularly replayed "The Cinnamon Bear" on his show on the 4 Saturdays before Christmass. I became addicted to the program all over--and got my young daughters interested in listening to it, too :-)
And then it happened! An announcement one Saturday on TWTD that Chuck had come into possession of a large number of mint-condition silver stars from the Wieboldt's days. They would be on sale at his shop on a first-come, first served basis.
Needless to say, I hurried over to his store and purchased one of those stars.
Most years since then, the Silver Star has found a place at the top of our family Christmass tree. This year is no different, as the picture shows.
Good memories!
