December 1, 2023
PUBLISHER’S CORNER
Historic Palmer Residence: Christmas Memories and Traditions
By Alana Callender
When you reach the crest of Brady Street hill, on your left is the Palmer residence, a stately Second Empire style home at 808 Brady, built in 1874. Drs. Mabel and B.J. Palmer bought the house in 1912 and added the wraparound porch in 1920.It has been unoccupied since 1961, except by its various caretakers.
Cut-glass window in the Palmer Residence porch.
The residence is the type of house that lends itself to festooning for Christmas. But the Palmers may have been too busy to take full advantage of its charms. Christmas song services were held at the Palmer School of Chiropractic on Christmas morning for those students who could not go home for the holidays. The public was invited to the services. The Palmer School attracted students from around the world and in 1917, a quick flight home was not an option. The Davenport Democrat and Leader reported on the community sing held at the school. “The song program began by the assemblage standing and singing ‘America’ at exactly 9 o’clock in conformity to the nationwide plan adopted for the day,” in recognition of the ongoing World War I. Christmas hymns and patriotic songs were comingled across the program.
In 1920, the porch was added and in 1921, the Palmers purchased WOC radio. In 1922, an Aeolian pipe organ was installed in the residence along with speakers that broadcast to the classrooms and Brady Street. Students and faculty members and their wives made up much of the early talent for the radio station. Christmas eve radio programs were broadcast from the Music Room on the residence’s porch. A clear cut-glass window was added and when the lights are on in the residence, it projects a kaleidoscope of colors onto Brady Street.
Mabel, David, and B.J. Palmer, Christmas 1945.
In the final six months of 1931, Iowa banks were failing rapidly and successively as farmers defaulted on their mortgages. On Christmas Eve, the Drs. Palmer, Mabel and B.J., were in their upstairs sitting room when they received a telephone call, informing them that their bank had failed. They finished their preparations and headed downstairs, because “We have guests.”
The first Christmas guests were shepherds and Zoroastrian priests (now known as the Magi). As we head into the Christmas season, it is important to remember that our guests, our family and friends, take precedence over the decorations, the gifts, the bank failure, and the hullabaloo. Take time to sit and enjoy the pleasure of their company – the cleanup can wait until tomorrow.
A very Merry Christmas to you all.
Pictures courtesy of the Palmer Archives.
