THE
WILSON CHRISTMAS CACTUS
In August of 1980, my SIL and I took a trip to Newark, Delaware. We were going to visit the old Wilson farmhouse one last time before it was torn down.
This farmhouse had belonged to Wendy's grandparents, Esmer B. Wilson (1889-1977) and Harriett L. (Dean) Wilson (1896-1966).
Mom Mom & Pop Pop Wilson were Farmers
photo was taken in 1946
No one had lived in the house since Pop Pop Wilson passed away in 1977, and the house had been sitting quietly ever since.
The Wilson
Farm House in Delaware
The Wilson Barn
Other family members had taken things that they wanted, so I
drove my van, hoping we might still find some old family
Treasures to save!
Inside the barn and house, we found lots of interesting things: oak wood boards that I later turned into a coffee table and a plant stand, an old wheelchair, a beautiful mirror, a huge silver tuba, and a round oak table with carved lion heads.
But the most special thing wasn’t big or shiny.
Out on the back porch, sitting on an old wooden kitchen table,
was a broken clay pot. Inside it was a Christmas cactus that
looked barely
alive.
It must have been very old. The bottom of the plant was thick like a tree trunk! I was shocked, it was still alive. No one had lived in the house for the last 3 years since Pop Pop had passed.
I broke off a few pieces of the cactus and found a glass in the kitchen. I filled it with water and placed the cactus pieces inside. Then I carefully set the glass in a corner of my van so it wouldn’t spill during the drive home.
When I got home, I took care of those little cactus pieces. After a while, they grew roots! By the next summer, I was able to plant them in a new clay pot. Now, some 45 years later, the Christmas Cactus has grown to be the size of when I found it in 1980, and instead of blooming at Christmas, it blooms every Thanksgiving and sometimes for Easter.
As it has grown larger, I trim off pieces and grow new plants from them and give them to family members.
From a dying plant on an old porch in Delaware to a living piece of our family’s history. 🌵💚
