Christmas with the Kendricks

One-hundred years ago this month, Senator and Mrs. John B. Kendrick held a Christmas party in their elegant mansion, Trail End. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 20, 21, and 22, Sheridan residents came to watch a re-creation of the event at the annual “Christmas with the Kendricks” at the Trail End State Historical Site.

The characters – portrayed by local volunteers – and the script – carefully researched and written by Trail End staff – were based on real people and real events.

The event is popular and sells out each year.

This year the tour started in the carriage houses theater, with the several youngsters giving a dress rehearsal of a play, “The Night Before Christmas. Mrs. Winterling welcomed the guests and introduced the play.

The group then went into the mansion and were greeted by the Kendrick’s housekeeper, who set the stage for the rest of the scenes.

The audience moved on the drawing room, where Eula Wulfjen Kendrick, J.B. Kendrick’s wife, was talking about her time in Washington with Mattie Wulfjen Williams and Madge Eggleston.

The next scene was in the library, where Senator Kendrick was entertaining his nephew, Tom, and his brother-in-law Clarence with his experiences in Washington.

He also talked about the fact that at the Democratic National Convention, the Wyoming delegation put his name in for president, and he said he lost in the first round. They also wanted him run for Vice-President, and he may have had a shot at that position, but he turned it down, saying he would never get back to Wyoming at all should that happen.

Following the scene in the library, the guests went to the second floor and the master bedroom where Rosa Maye Kendrick was visiting with her friends, Eula Williams, Lucille Kendrick, Elsa Spear and Doris Kooi.

Manville Kendrick, John’s son, and his cousin, Harry Kay, were in the ballroom, talking about the latest in cars, and saying that Chrysler cars came in five different colors, and Ford only came in basic black, which was “Boring”, Manville said.

After the group left the ballroom, they went into the kitchen, where the cooks were talking about some of the newest food that Eula Kendrick was planning to serve for supper, including,

The last stop on the tour was the dining room, where three maids were gossiping about the family as they readied the table for the supper guests.

The play was written by Sharie Shada and Aubree Helton and directed by Shada. There was a special thank you to Jeannie Hall and the WYO Theater for the costumes, and to all the volunteer actors who worked to make the play a success.