Shoppers today sift through huge inventories of "Black Friday" sale merchandise at area retailers, but shopping for Christmas gifts used to be much simpler 160 years ago. So says Land Between the Lakes Special Events Coordinator Cindy Earls. She says, on Christmas mornings back then, children might only receive an orange, some candy, a pair of socks or, maybe, as a special treat, a doll or a pocket knife. Earls says, after opening their gifts, 19th Century Western Kentucky farm families would visit neighbors. LBL's Homeplace celebrates Christmas 1850 Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
