Winifred Millar, EMER, was born on 16 Feb 1909 in Trogir Austria, now Yugoslavia. She immigrated to the U.S. with her mother Marija "Mary" Emer and her brother Pave, or "Paul" aboard the Cunard R.M.S. Pannonia from Trieste to New York on 12 Aug 1921. Her father Blas, immigrated to the U.S. in 1910 and established residency in Roseville, California working for the Pacific Fruit Express.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Winifred worked as a cook and waitress at Dykes Cafe, located at 300 Vernon St. where they advertised home-churned buttermilk in the telephone directory. As an employee of the restaurant, a patron advised her to seek employment at McClellan A.F.B. in North Highlands, which is what she did, working there for many years in instrument repair until her retirement. Winifred was married twice, briefly to Anton Coche in a Catholic ceremony in April 1930 in Sacramento, although the couple divorced on 28 Dec 1931. She later found her life partner in Charles Millar, whom she married on 29 Jun 1947 at the Methodist Church in Roseville. Charles shortly thereafter became a California Highway Patrolman in Sacramento in 1948 and although the couple had no children, she and Charles traveled extensively in Europe and America on a yearly basis, bringing the family together to view their home movies, slides, and photos of their travels.
Over the years they hosted countless holiday celebrations and beginning in the mid-1950s, decorated both the inside and outside of their home for Christmas in extravagant fashion. On the front porch was a manger scene using mannequins dressed in costume as the three wise men and on the rooftop directly above was a large plastic illuminated Santa, sleigh, and reindeer with multi-colored lights under the eaves. A large Christmas tree in the living room touched the ceiling, packed with ornaments and covered with so much angel hair, the tree itself was hardly visible.
Winnie and Charlie always shopped the sales after the holidays and over the years added so much Christmas decoration to the interior of their home, that eventually the walls were hardly visible. As a consequence, decorating for Christmas started earlier and earlier as the years went by eventually beginning in September, not to mention the time involved in take-down afterward. Automaton Santa's and a player piano kept things lively when the family gathered, and the large banquet table was full of various ethnic homemade cookies, pastries, candy, and cherry brandy before Christmas dinner.
The room off the kitchen was used as a self-serve bar and decorated in plastic plants and singing plastic birds, very much in an island motif, while outside long lines of cars backed up for blocks to drive by and view the outside decorations. Any stranger who came to the door was invited inside to gaze in wonderment at the results of so much preparation and hard work, sample the homemade cherry brandy, the finger foods, and get the grand tour.
Winifred always began dinner preparations well before the family arrived and her kitchen was always the center for the four sisters to socialize. After thirty-two years of marriage, Charles passed away in 1980 and with him, the lavish holiday decorations and banquets came to an end. Winifred passed away at home in 1998.
Scott Adell
In the 1920s and 1930s, Winifred worked as a cook and waitress at Dykes Cafe, located at 300 Vernon St. where they advertised home-churned buttermilk in the telephone directory. As an employee of the restaurant, a patron advised her to seek employment at McClellan A.F.B. in North Highlands, which is what she did, working there for many years in instrument repair until her retirement. Winifred was married twice, briefly to Anton Coche in a Catholic ceremony in April 1930 in Sacramento, although the couple divorced on 28 Dec 1931. She later found her life partner in Charles Millar, whom she married on 29 Jun 1947 at the Methodist Church in Roseville. Charles shortly thereafter became a California Highway Patrolman in Sacramento in 1948 and although the couple had no children, she and Charles traveled extensively in Europe and America on a yearly basis, bringing the family together to view their home movies, slides, and photos of their travels.
Over the years they hosted countless holiday celebrations and beginning in the mid-1950s, decorated both the inside and outside of their home for Christmas in extravagant fashion. On the front porch was a manger scene using mannequins dressed in costume as the three wise men and on the rooftop directly above was a large plastic illuminated Santa, sleigh, and reindeer with multi-colored lights under the eaves. A large Christmas tree in the living room touched the ceiling, packed with ornaments and covered with so much angel hair, the tree itself was hardly visible.
Winnie and Charlie always shopped the sales after the holidays and over the years added so much Christmas decoration to the interior of their home, that eventually the walls were hardly visible. As a consequence, decorating for Christmas started earlier and earlier as the years went by eventually beginning in September, not to mention the time involved in take-down afterward. Automaton Santa's and a player piano kept things lively when the family gathered, and the large banquet table was full of various ethnic homemade cookies, pastries, candy, and cherry brandy before Christmas dinner.
The room off the kitchen was used as a self-serve bar and decorated in plastic plants and singing plastic birds, very much in an island motif, while outside long lines of cars backed up for blocks to drive by and view the outside decorations. Any stranger who came to the door was invited inside to gaze in wonderment at the results of so much preparation and hard work, sample the homemade cherry brandy, the finger foods, and get the grand tour.
Winifred always began dinner preparations well before the family arrived and her kitchen was always the center for the four sisters to socialize. After thirty-two years of marriage, Charles passed away in 1980 and with him, the lavish holiday decorations and banquets came to an end. Winifred passed away at home in 1998.
Scott Adell
Winifred Millar, EMER, was born on 16 Feb 1909 in Trogir Austria, now Yugoslavia. She immigrated to the U.S. with her mother Marija "Mary" Emer and her brother Pave, or "Paul" aboard the Cunard R.M.S. Pannonia from Trieste to New York on 12 Aug 1921. Her father Blas, immigrated to the U.S. in 1910 and established residency in Roseville, California working for the Pacific Fruit Express.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Winifred worked as a cook and waitress at Dykes Cafe, located at 300 Vernon St. where they advertised home-churned buttermilk in the telephone directory. As an employee of the restaurant, a patron advised her to seek employment at McClellan A.F.B. in North Highlands, which is what she did, working there for many years in instrument repair until her retirement. Winifred was married twice, briefly to Anton Coche in a Catholic ceremony in April 1930 in Sacramento, although the couple divorced on 28 Dec 1931. She later found her life partner in Charles Millar, whom she married on 29 Jun 1947 at the Methodist Church in Roseville. Charles shortly thereafter became a California Highway Patrolman in Sacramento in 1948 and although the couple had no children, she and Charles traveled extensively in Europe and America on a yearly basis, bringing the family together to view their home movies, slides, and photos of their travels.
Over the years they hosted countless holiday celebrations and beginning in the mid-1950s, decorated both the inside and outside of their home for Christmas in extravagant fashion. On the front porch was a manger scene using mannequins dressed in costume as the three wise men and on the rooftop directly above was a large plastic illuminated Santa, sleigh, and reindeer with multi-colored lights under the eaves. A large Christmas tree in the living room touched the ceiling, packed with ornaments and covered with so much angel hair, the tree itself was hardly visible.
Winnie and Charlie always shopped the sales after the holidays and over the years added so much Christmas decoration to the interior of their home, that eventually the walls were hardly visible. As a consequence, decorating for Christmas started earlier and earlier as the years went by eventually beginning in September, not to mention the time involved in take-down afterward. Automaton Santa's and a player piano kept things lively when the family gathered, and the large banquet table was full of various ethnic homemade cookies, pastries, candy, and cherry brandy before Christmas dinner.
The room off the kitchen was used as a self-serve bar and decorated in plastic plants and singing plastic birds, very much in an island motif, while outside long lines of cars backed up for blocks to drive by and view the outside decorations. Any stranger who came to the door was invited inside to gaze in wonderment at the results of so much preparation and hard work, sample the homemade cherry brandy, the finger foods, and get the grand tour.
Winifred always began dinner preparations well before the family arrived and her kitchen was always the center for the four sisters to socialize. After thirty-two years of marriage, Charles passed away in 1980 and with him, the lavish holiday decorations and banquets came to an end. Winifred passed away at home in 1998.
Scott Adell
In the 1920s and 1930s, Winifred worked as a cook and waitress at Dykes Cafe, located at 300 Vernon St. where they advertised home-churned buttermilk in the telephone directory. As an employee of the restaurant, a patron advised her to seek employment at McClellan A.F.B. in North Highlands, which is what she did, working there for many years in instrument repair until her retirement. Winifred was married twice, briefly to Anton Coche in a Catholic ceremony in April 1930 in Sacramento, although the couple divorced on 28 Dec 1931. She later found her life partner in Charles Millar, whom she married on 29 Jun 1947 at the Methodist Church in Roseville. Charles shortly thereafter became a California Highway Patrolman in Sacramento in 1948 and although the couple had no children, she and Charles traveled extensively in Europe and America on a yearly basis, bringing the family together to view their home movies, slides, and photos of their travels.
Over the years they hosted countless holiday celebrations and beginning in the mid-1950s, decorated both the inside and outside of their home for Christmas in extravagant fashion. On the front porch was a manger scene using mannequins dressed in costume as the three wise men and on the rooftop directly above was a large plastic illuminated Santa, sleigh, and reindeer with multi-colored lights under the eaves. A large Christmas tree in the living room touched the ceiling, packed with ornaments and covered with so much angel hair, the tree itself was hardly visible.
Winnie and Charlie always shopped the sales after the holidays and over the years added so much Christmas decoration to the interior of their home, that eventually the walls were hardly visible. As a consequence, decorating for Christmas started earlier and earlier as the years went by eventually beginning in September, not to mention the time involved in take-down afterward. Automaton Santa's and a player piano kept things lively when the family gathered, and the large banquet table was full of various ethnic homemade cookies, pastries, candy, and cherry brandy before Christmas dinner.
The room off the kitchen was used as a self-serve bar and decorated in plastic plants and singing plastic birds, very much in an island motif, while outside long lines of cars backed up for blocks to drive by and view the outside decorations. Any stranger who came to the door was invited inside to gaze in wonderment at the results of so much preparation and hard work, sample the homemade cherry brandy, the finger foods, and get the grand tour.
Winifred always began dinner preparations well before the family arrived and her kitchen was always the center for the four sisters to socialize. After thirty-two years of marriage, Charles passed away in 1980 and with him, the lavish holiday decorations and banquets came to an end. Winifred passed away at home in 1998.
Scott Adell
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