Christmas 1936
‘Adeline, get back here. By golly, when I catch you, I’ll tan your hide.’
Mary Spice ran as fast as she could, but she was no match for Adeline. The tone of Mary’s voice and the wooden spoon she wielded were enough to prompt the
child to hasten her pace. Mary slipped and fell, hurting her infected leg. Adeline hid under the back porch steps.
Mary yelled for Evan, her eldest, to assist her. He helped her to the kitchen.
‘Adeline will be the death of me, I swear,’ she said.
Mary sat at the table, and dared to hope her Samuel would be home for Christmas. Her leg was in pain, and she was exhausted. She would have to return to New
Plymouth hospital in January for further treatment of her leg. Evan made his mother a pot of tea and sat with her for a while. Adeline scurried
out from for under the stairs and made herself scarce until teatime. Samuel Spice was in Tokanui Mental Hospital. Mary had written to the hospital
superintendent a month earlier to ask for her husband to be sent home for Christmas.
A response arrived on 21 December 1936. It read: –
‘Dear Mrs Spice,
Regarding your request of November 24th inst., it will depend upon the state of the mental health of Mr Samuel Edwin Spice as to whether he may return home
for Christmas. You must understand that Mr S. E. Spice is still a mental defective and Tokanui must exercise due diligence when considering releasing him from the hospital’s care. Be aware, too, that Mr S. E. Spice has been
suffering from a toothache and until he can see a dentist, he continues to experience pain which prompts distressing outbursts. Such behaviour may cause anxiety in you
and your children should you witness it. Should I deem it appropriate that Mr S. E. Spice be able to go home for Christmas, he shall arrive by bus on December 24th.’”
Mary felt defeated. If her husband would stop thinking about his experiences in The Great War, surely, he would get well. His place was at home with her, raising their seven children. Jan Stratton, next door, had asked Mary in for morning tea. The conversation turned to Christmas.
‘That old tweed coat, and the woollen trousers Sam wore on our honeymoon, they’ll do for making into knapsacks for the boys,’ she told Jan.
‘I’ve got some pretty dresses I no longer wear,’ said Jan. ‘You could make something from them for the girls.’
‘Oh, I’ll not say no to those, Jan. Thank you, that’ll be a great help. I’ll buy lollies from Donaldson’s Dairy and some pencils and rubbers from McKenzies too. Their Christmas stockings will be full to bursting.’
‘Now all you need is to hear Sam’s voice at home for Christmas,’ said Jan.
‘And for Adeline to behave, said Mary. ‘She’s a Holy terror, that child.’
‘Spirited, Mary, that’s what she is.’
‘I’ll give her spirited,’ said Mary. They both laughed.
A day later, a telegram arrived.
To Mrs M. Spice STOP
Mr S. E. Spice will arrive at the Bus Stop on Kahui Street, Rahotu at 9.00 am on Christmas Eve STOP
Kindly send someone to collect him STOP.
It was December 24th and Samuel Spice was home. The children showered him with hugs and tales, and Mary stuffed a chook and roasted vegies from
their garden. She made the steamed pudding recipe from the Edmonds Cookery Book, with a threepence mixed in, and custard with Edmonds Custard Powder.
‘“Very nice Christmas dinner, Mary,’” Samuel said.
‘“It was the best, ever, Mum,’” Adeline said. She’d found the threepence.
This Christmas was the most enjoyable in years for the Spices. And Adeline was an angel.
But ultimately, Samuel had to return to Tokanui.
Mary went into New Plymouth hospital, where she remained for two years. The eldest girls went to their grandmothers’ houses. Evan found work on the
railway, the youngest boys went to an orphanage, and the youngest girls were farmed out to Taranaki families.
They never lived as a complete family again.
