A Christmas tradition, Shelter Island style

Rebecca checks on her list in IGA’s produce section last week as she fills the second of two shopping carts.

This year Rebecca Mundy’s Christmas Eve shopping list isprobably twice as long as usual. The Mundy kids have asked for adinner in addition to the appetizers usually served. So there willbe stuffed shells, sausage and pepper, eggplant Parmesan andlasagne on the kitchen counter buffet as well.

Rebecca and her husband Michael finished building their2,200-square-food home deep in the woods off South Ferry Road inlate 2002. Plenty of room for their five children and an occasionalvisit from Michael’s mother, Shirley. And plenty of room for thefamily gathering on December 24.

There is, of course, the Mundy family, then the Kilbs (Rebeccais a Kilb), the Brighams (Rebecca’s Aunt Barbara Brigham is aKilb), the Beckwiths (Rebecca’s mother Diane Kilb is a Beckwith).There are also enough Avonas, Corbetts and Mitchells to make ahouseful of at least 50 people.

As Rebecca said last Thursday, wiping away the tears thatsometimes flow when she talks about her family, “They range in agefrom 2 (Elsie Mae Brigham) to 87 (Great-grandmother Karoline Kilb).We better have a newborn for Christmas.

The Kilb tradition goes back to Alfred Sr.’s mother Theresa,lovingly known as Tessie, who emigrated from Erligheim, Germany toRockland County about 100 years ago. Alfred Jr.’s brother Loubrought the German tradition to Shelter Island.

A second tradition, originating in Ireland, comes from Michael’sside of the family and is traceable to his Aunt Elsie.

The two traditions were merged several years ago, so that thereis just one humdinger of a party on Christmas Eve. Plenty ofpeople, plenty of food (Italian style), a little music with SaraMundy at the piano and her sister Melissa singing, and the family’s”man of the hour, their brother Zachariah, who leaves for theMarine training camp at Quantico in August.

And so a Christmas tradition, Shelter Island style, continues.No wonder Rebecca had a headache last Friday.