Allow me to explain the photo.

It was taken in the days when Truman was in the White House. The scene is from our family yard at 201 N. Lawn Avenue, at the corner of Lawn and Elm.

My brother, Rudolf, was born in 1943 or was it '42?. He was named after his great-grandfather, Rudolf Althaus. Well, everything was going along fine until Gene Autry recorded Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. That was in 1949, the year I was born.

My parents thought the whole thing - the Rudolph thing - was pretty novel. So, my dad built a sort of early Christmas outdoor lawn display. These were in the days before people did that sort of thing. The display stated something like "Rudolph's Play-House." He made a cut out of a reindeer. Even found a red light bulb. I imagine that in 1949 he probably painted it red. Don't know for certain.

He placed the reindeer on the lawn. Earlier in the year the Steinman Brothers Lumber Company had a miniature ranch house built for a Fourth of July parade. The house had a one-car garage, breezeway and a large room with a front door, picture window and two windows on each side. As I recall, the windows were sort of an early Eisenglass.

My grandfather, Fred Hahn, was a custodian at Steinman's. He somehow acquired the miniature house and the next thing we knew the house was in our front yard next to the sign.

If you examine the reindeer closely you'll notice an extension cord used for the red nose. Remember, these were in the days before outside long extension cords. You can see part of the sign that reads: "Rudolph's Play-House."

The next year the reindeer appeared on the roof with a sign reading "Rudolph lives here."

Eventually the excitement of having a reindeer in the family must have worn off. After a couple of seasons my parents decided to call it quits for the outdoor lawn display.

The miniature house, however, became a playhouse for the neighborhood. Rudolph was retired to the upper rafter of the garage and since my parents never threw anything away, the cutout lived in the garage for a good 15 years longer than it should have.

Anyway, I wanted to share this story with you, because not everyone has a brother whose name is Rudolf.

(A point of spelling. The reindeer is Rudolph. The brother is Rudolf.) You may click on the photo to enlarge it.