Broken Ornaments Healing Holidays: A Short Story in the Family History Mystery Series
by Elaine L. OrrPublish: Dec 16, 2025 Series: Family History Mystery SeriesMysteryBook Overview
Digger Browning had had a falling-out with her reporter friend Marty and she isn't sure they can fix it.To distract herself, Digger and her very pale Uncle Benjamin sort through boxes in the cellar of the Ancestral Sanctuary. They find a carefully wrapped (but broken) ornament Uncle Benjamin's late wife, Clara, found and cherished. It had been made by the Meadow Mountain Ornament Factory, which burned in 1948. Digger is surprised she never heard of the firm, especially because of its sad ending.
She meets Hank, a man whose family owned the firm. He's puzzled about why his great grandmother never talked about the company or its demise. He and Digger learn a young man died in the fire, though his body wasn't immediately discovered and could not be identified.
Audrey, the great granddaughter of Garrett County slaves, briefly met the young man, who had been passing through town. He told her his first name was Abraham, and she believes people didn't try hard to identify him because he was a stranger and because he was African American. People cared less than they would today. Hank commits to trying to learn who he was and erecting a meaningful stone marker in the local A.M.E. Cemetery.
The search is a chance for to do some research with Marty -- even if they are barely talking to each other. A snowstorm complicates things, but gives Digger a chance to get wise counsel -- and occasional teasing -- from her cousin Franklin. It also gives Marty a new appreciation for Maple Grove as he helps dig out the town.
The snowed-in silence of Christmas Eve brings reflection and maybe a chance to make things right again. Digger and Franklin also realize that Aunt Clara kept that ornament in memory of young Abraham. Maybe the damage can heal.
