Going back to Christmastime in 1912, things were a bit different. One only has to read the Dec. 20, 1912, edition of "The Carbon Advocate" looking at the top stories of the day to see this.

The Pentecostals had 100 percent attendance at Sunday school, while the church I was raised in - the teetotaling Methodists - were slackers with only 71 percent attendance the week before Christmas.Church services and times filled out the center column of the front page of this penny paper.Top "Lehighton Happenings" also on page one were that Charles Acker took a job as the janitor at the Empire Building and Attorney C.A. Hauk was confined to his home with pneumonia.Under "Reports Confirmed" we find that "stockholders of the Lehighton Building and Loan Associations have occasion to be thankful at this merry Yuletide season as no exceptions" had been found by the auditors.The big inside local story was that 200 tavern licenses and 22 wholesale bottlers in the county had license applications pending before the Court of Quarter Sessions awaiting approval.Moving to the ads, we find that stores were reminding everyone to get their last-minute Christmas gifts. North First Street undertakers, Kemerer & Swartz, combined reminding folks they could have both night and Sunday calling hours should the need arise, while shopping for Christmas gifts and buying elegant furniture.Not to be left out was their South Street competitor, undertaker and "embalmer" J. Dan Wolford. He not only had furniture for sale, but would deliver it when you requested!For those who partake, Steigmaier's had a "Christmas Tip" suggesting you buy Gold Medal Export Beer. You could reach them on both of the two telephone companies serving Lehighton - Bell 62 or New 562. If you trekked over to Weissport, Granoff & Levin claimed they did not sell cheap goods and after drinking them, if they were not as represented, you could return them. They featured No. 9 Whiskey for 75 cents.Swartz Music House "for your musical Christmas" offered Victrolas selling between $15 and $200. For the loved one, "Elegant Candy for the Holiday Trade" could be found at Wagner's Pharmacy. Fred W. Rex, jeweler opposite the park, claimed it was "No trouble to show goods." He would also engrave items, so you wouldn't be disappointed.His competition at H.J. Dotter, jeweler and optician, reminded folks that "giving jewelry doesn't necessarily mean spending a lot of money." He also offered something new at the time the "privilege of laying articles aside."The main department store in town at the time was Gruneberg's at Lehighton's Shopping Centre. It was located where the Elks Building is today. They wished everyone a merry Christmas from the store where you "Pay Less and Dress Better." The store that claimed it had the "Grandest Showing in Town of Fine Furs and Clothing From Pop to the Baby." Now if you wanted something "useful," Loso's Clothing Store beckoned you to "Do Your Shopping Early - Do It Now" with sweaters starting at 50 cents.Lehighton Steam Laundry reminded you for Christmas that you needed a "Stiff Shirt Front" to be a smart dresser.For the children, if you wanted to buy a toy, you could head over for your "Christmas Joy" to the Economy Book Store on South First Street. They offered a large selection of dolls, steam and electric toys and games. Of course, they also had books, china and "pottery ware of rare design being offered to the trade this season."No local crime could be found in the paper. The big crime stories were female crusaders beating egg brokers to lower the price of eggs in Philadelphia, while in New York the Aldermen heard testimony of college bred women becoming "Scarlet Ladies." In Los Angeles a father was slain by his 13-year-old for whipping his brother for disobeying.Then some things are the same. A New York judge sentenced a man to four months in jail for stealing. He told him, if he "was really going to steal he ought to go to Wall Street, where there would at least be the air of respectability about it."