This is a look at a 1950s Christmas in Beaverton
Yuletide in the 1950s was a time of consumer confidence, traditional meals, family activities, real trees—until the introduction of the aluminum variety in 1958—newly produced toys, gift giving, and faith-based services. This is a look at a 1950’s Christmas in Beaverton.
Retailers had begun to stock gifts by early November. Weiby’s shoes and men’s wear, Dean’s Rexall Drugs, and The Mode, “A Shop For Women” were among the first to advertise: “Beat the rush and buy Christmas gifts now.” Shopkeepers’ festive window displays brought holiday cheer as they suggested just the right gifts for everyone.
- Weiby’s, men’s wool lined slippers were $4.95;
- The Mode, several dress styles and fabrics for $10.95;
- Beaverton Pharmacy, a $2.00 View-Master and 35 cent reels;
- Dana Porter, a jeweler in Walker’s Department Store had men’s and women’s Bulova watches starting at $29.75 ($404 in 2025)
The Beaverton Enterprise newspaper urged customers to shop locally to avoid congestion, buy with confidence, and enjoy a wide gift selection in Beaverton, Aloha, and West Slope without going “over the hill”’ to Portland.
It was a time of generosity and sharing. The Junior Chamber of Commerce coordinated the request for food contributions to go into gift baskets for distribution to needy families who might not otherwise have a joyous season, while the Beaverton Rural Fire Department’s annual Toy Fix-Up Campaign repaired and repainted donated playthings to spread cheer to disadvantaged youngsters.
Community churches called the faithful to reverent celebrations as congregations gathered for special day and evening worship and candlelight services, prayers for peace, sermons, recitations, and musical programs. Nationally, President Harry Truman’s recorded message for “this day of prayer and religious dedication” and “hopes for peace and freedom” was broadcast on Voice of America on December 24, amid global tensions of the Cold War.
1950 marked the 44th annual Christmas Seal Sale, an educational and fundraising campaign of the National Tuberculosis Association to fight the disease, then a leading cause of death. People purchased Seals and affixed them to the reverse side of envelopes, a Post Office directive that was sometimes ignored. Postal regulations allowed special 2 cent stamps for unsealed cards in addition to the usual 3 cent rate for sealed envelopes. The Enterprise noted, though, there were stacks and stacks of undelivered Christmas mail, opining it wasn’t such a bargain, after all.
City councilors had decided in 1928 to have a community Christmas for the first time in Beaverton history. It was privately financed by local merchants and businessmen, and eventually, the Chamber of Commerce, who placed the tree at the corner of Watson Avenue and Broadway Street. Townsfolk who gathered around the brightly lighted and decorated Douglas-fir to sing traditional carols and wait for a visit from Santa Claus, launched a tradition that’s now called Beaverton Winter Lights & Tree Lighting. It’s unclear, however, why he rode a Palomino horse, accompanied by a mounted escort, into town in 1950. leaving Rudolph and the other reindeer at the North Pole.
It was a season of “happy Christmas to all and to all, a good night.”
By Ann Koppy, local historian.
