FOURTH GRADE FROSTY

  It was the first week of December 1959 and Miss Ruhlander, my 4th grade teacher, and the meanest at the Bacon school according to most of her students asked the class as our day began... “By request of our Principal Mrs. McCorristin every grade  is to contribute to the PTA’s Annual Christmas Assembly. The theme is Christmas Cards... there will be a large gold picture frame on stage and the "card" will be a Christmas scene formed by you and it will come to life and “entertain the audience.”

Does anyone have any talent?  
No hands went up.  “No one can play a carol on the piano?”  Still nothing. “Recite a Christmas poem?”  Again nothing.

And then for some unknown reason... I raised my hand and blurted – “I can be Frosty the Snowman!” Miss R was ecstatic at this great news.  She didn’t even ask how I could be the famous frozen one. And I didn’t know how myself to be honest. What I did know I had about a week to figure this one out.

Nanny, Mom and I put our heads together that night after dinner.  And Nanny said, without hesitation - “I’ll make you a snowman costume!” Just like that Frosty was on the way.  I had a record of the Gene Autry's Frosty the Snowman and that was my contribution.  Mom said, I’ll get the rest of the outfit.  

My grandmother could sew anything.  A shirt from scratch, no problem. Repair a ripped winter coat – a cinch.  But produce a snowman…I was dubious to say the least.

The couple of days passed.  And Nanny hummed away in her room working on a piece of white heavy fabric she just happened to have.  Her Singer hummed..

Mom’s job was critical to the entire performance.  “When they put a top hat on Frosty…he began to dance around…”  Where in this working man’s town would she get a top hat? Mom racked her brain.  During her lunch she walked uptown and tried all of the men’s shops. No dice! And it was too late and much too expensive to order one from Sears & Roebucks – never come in time. 

And then she had an inspiration – She called a good friend and our local funeral director. And he said, “Sure why not, anything for education.”  I couldn’t believe it.

The night before the show I tried on my costume.  White blossoming pants with a drawstring – we filled the legs with newspaper.  I put on a white jacket size triple XXX - that looked like the ones chefs wear.  It had big black button... where did Nanny had sewed them down the front that look like coal?  I 

She leaned borrowed  off her best winter coat.  Mom stuffed me with three pillows.  I looked in the bedroom mirror – good grief I was Frosty! 

Show night arrived.  Mom did my makeup - White Clown makeup, lots of rouge on my cheeks and drew black squares around my eyes and on my nose with an eyebrow pencil.   

Show time.  I had practiced a dance -  it was more like skipping in time to Mr. Autry’s beat.  The lights dimmed and I froze in place behind the big wooden "card" as the curtains rolled back and my scratchy record played.  Timed perfectly to the lyrics ( we had practiced for two days) my classmate – Mary Jane entered the tableau and placed the big black hat on my head.  And, and of course...as the song said, I started to dance around as the audience cheered. This gave some confidence and I started to improvise...with a series of pirouettes and finished with a magnificent high jumping twirl...that would have made Martha Graham proud - I had been inspired by the festive season and clapping from the audience - Then the officer on the record hollered STOP.  I stopped and then did an encore to a big cheer from the crowd. The song ended and I froze again back inside the “card”. The applause was long and loud. My Frosty was the hit of the show...And from that day on, whenever I see a snowman I remember the night when the magic in a mortician's hat made me a star...for a brief moment.