LEEDS – On Christmas morning, some children wake up to presents piled high underneath the tree and stockings stuffed with toys and candy hanging over the fireplace. But this was not the Christmas morning scene at Richard Greene’s home in the 1950s.
The 69-year-old Leeds resident said his family wasn’t poor, but money was tight. For Christmas, typical presents were practical things like socks, underwear and maybe a shirt.
Greene said it was hard to understand while growing up why he didn’t get toys. But his older brother Robert found ways to earn money to give his little brother a present for Christmas.
“He would always make sure there was toy for me,” Greene said, describing Robert as humble, generous and not one to boast.
Robert would look for golf balls that had been hit off course at the Northampton Country Club and sell them back to golfers for about 15 cents.
When Greene was about 7, he started helping Robert earn money. Greene said he remembers going out to pick berries. He would get scratched up by the bushes in the process, but berry picking earned him about 35 cents per picking. Shoveling snow during the winter could earn him 50 cents – enough for a movie with popcorn and a soda.
As the family grew, Robert made sure their were gifts for his younger brothers and sisters such as a cap pistol, baseball glove, Slinky, kaleidoscope and even toy pony from “Hopalong Cassidy.”
Greene remembers buying his brother toy soldiers, a baseball and a box of ribbon candy. As they got older, the brothers exchanged fishing gear to prepare for fishing season in April.
This giving eventually expanded to include the Daily Hampshire Gazette’s Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund more than 20 years ago. The annual donation has been Greene’s way to make sure other children receive a gift for the holiday.
But this year is different. Robert died in April at 72.
“We’ve always exchanged gifts until this year,” Greene said. In recent years, Greene recalls giving his brother New England Patriots memorabilia, World War II books and scratch-off lottery tickets.
In his memory, Greene donated $113 so children will be able to have a gift under the tree this Christmas.
“I know what it feels like to get that gift,” he said. “It makes you feel special.”
The Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund provides certificates redeemable at participating local retailers to eligible families who can use them to buy holiday gifts at participating stores through Dec. 31, 2016.
Named after a former business manager at the Gazette, the fund began in 1933 to help families in need during the Depression. Today, the fund distributes vouchers to families for each child age 1 to 14. Eligible families must live in any Hampshire County community except Ware, or in the Southern Fanklin County towns of Deerfield, Sunderland, Whately, Shutesbury and Leverett.
Berkshire Children and Families at 220 Russell St. in Hadley verifies families’ eligibility and the Gazette covers costs associated with the drive, freeing all donations to fund the vouchers. Most families who receive assistance are referred by social service agencies.
The following stores are participating this year: A2Z Science and Learning Store, 57 King St., Northampton; Deals & Steals, One Pearl St., Northampton; JCPenney, 341 Russell St., Hadley; The Toy Box, 201 N. Pleasant St., Amherst; Wilson’s Dept. Store, 258 Main St., Greenfield; Sam’s Outdoor Outfitters, 227 Russell St., Hadley; and Target, 367 Russell St., Hadley.
Donations to the Toy Fund may be dropped off at or mailed to the Daily Hampshire Gazette at 115 Conz St. in Northampton, 01060, or made through Gazettenet at toyfund.gazettenet.com.
Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.