Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1960-12-08

look at and admire but not t
bird tree and it's strictly for the
birds. 1t is trimmed solely to
spread the joy of Christmas to
sur little feathered friends who
will have the opportunity to con-
sumo all the goodies planned
for their taste buds.
Both trees are on display at
the Botanical Gardens in Wash
ington as part Of the magnifi-
cent exhibit held annually by
area Garden Clubs. Last year
the display was held at the Cor
coran Art Gallery and 1t drew
some 10000 persons. Wide
spread interest conferred on
these two trees. Everyone was
awe-struck by the beauty and
originality of something that
was not completely new. If we
were to trace all the legends OF
Yuletide we'd find that these
trimmings and customs go all
the way back to antiquity.
The Cookie Tree
Blond and attractive Louise
La Gorce, probably the young
est looking grandm o her
around, is the modern exponent
of the cookie tree. In 1857 her
garden club, Hoe n Hope, asked
club for physically handicapped
Show and from that time on the
interest has snowballed in the
public eye. Christmas week 1t
will be in the lobby Of the May
flower Hotel and that, too, Is
becoming a tradition.
She trims it herself. Each
cookie must be handled care
fully. Storing, too, is quite an
ordeal because she places them
in suit boxes in layers with
tissue paper in between. Every
year she can count on so many
that need repairing or replace
ment. At present she has In
her possession about $50 de-
signs In all kinds of shapes
and during the year she looks
for new ideas.
Writes Book
Swamped with queries from
mothers on how to make them,
she decided the best way TO
handle this problem was to
write q book. Entitled 1.-THE
Christmas Cookie Tree" 1t con-
bains recipes, procedures and
patterns with stories for chill
dren. She was all the more en-
thusiastic about writing the
book when her Maryland friend,
Mrs. Garvin Tankersley, sug-
gested q cause.-The National
Epilepsy League of Chicago-to
which a royalty is paid.
Mrs. Tankersley, whom ]
reached by phone, said this
cookie making was born of a
love of Louise's family and she
wanted to remember It that
way. That's why the idea of
turning some of the money
from the book to q worthy
cause suited her perfectly.
In the book, she begins with
the story of how her two chill
dren, as they grew older, were
never satisfied with the trim
mings. They wanted more and
more, especially her daughter
Elizabeth, who loved a lot of
lights.
A Childhood Memory
Louise thought about her
own childhood, how her Penn
sylvania Dutch mother used to
decorate the tree with gleam-
ing cranberries, popcorn. home
made cookies - nothing "store-
boughten."
She got out her mothers
dough recipe and from there
on the sky was the limit. BY
trial-and-error methods, expert
menting, a search for new de-
signs and materials, the cookie
decoration project went on until
she practically exhausted all
sources.
The tools she lists as absolute.
ly necessary, with the toothpick
as inevitable, are: common
straight pins, hairpins, pliers,
scissors, thick jute Irvine, knife
ana scads OF trimmings like
feathers, beads, artificial
flowers, cotton, knitting yarn
and so on. And she'll teach you
which materials take the baking
temperature. When she made
them for her own family they
were edible because it was a
fun project. In her present role
as demonstration, Louise must
prepare for durability so that
they'll survive from year to
year. Some of the toys por-
trayed on her trees are brides,
Snow White, the three little
pigs and other nursery rhyme
characters. She has no dupli-
Gates. Each one is a three
dimensional work of art.
One year, when she was up
on a. large platform ladder in
the Mayflower Hotel trimming
a 15-foot tree, she happened to
look down and felt compli-
mented to see the famous