X-Ray Saves Neshanic Tot

Now that Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar have made their visit and presented their gifts, it is time to take down the Christmas decorations, including the Nativity scene.

Let's see. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph - check. Angels - check. Shepherds - check. Magi - check. Camel, sheep, goat, donkey - check, check, check, check. Hey, I just want to be thorough.

I wonder if Mrs. Robert Amerman also had a checklist as she put away the decorations in her Neshanic home in January of 1933. If she did, that's probably when she realized one of the animals was missing.

Little Ruth Marie, just five months old, had been in pain and had trouble breathing since Thanksgiving. Doctors were baffled for weeks, until an X-ray revealed a tiny toy donkey lodged in her throat. Removal of the offending animal brought immediate relief to the young patient, as you can see in the photo which appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on January 10, 1933.