HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-12-20, Page 24PAGE 24. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2012.
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Gowing Christmas evolves, retains family focus
Christmas time around the
Gowing household has meant a lot
of different things over the years.
Morris-Turnberry Mayor Paul
Gowing explained to The Citizen
that, as the youngest member of a
large family, he remembers his
childhood Christmas as an enjoyable
time of the year.
“Christmas was a time we all
looked forward to, it was a time for
us to be together and we really
looked forward to it,” he said. “That
was back in the time of the old-
fashioned winters, when we had a
full month of snow before
Christmas, from the first of
December on, right through the
holidays. It involved a lot of
snowmobiling and being outside.”
Being part of a large family,
Gowing said that he will always
remember meal times at Christmas.
“We had large holiday meals that
I’ll never forget,” he said. “Those
were good times.”
It’s a bit of a contrast to how his
family celebrates today, according to
Gowing, whose children are 23, 21
and 19 now. However, he still enjoys
the family meal.
“On Christmas Day, we generally
have a big meal on toward the supper
hour and it’s really just a relaxed day
with usually too much to eat,” he
said.
While that tradition lives on, there
have been other changes according
to Gowing.
“Through time there have been a
lot of changes at our farmstead,” he
said. “I’ve gone from being a full-
time livestock producer, where you
did the same work every day with
feeding the cattle and hogs and
looking forward to getting your
work caught up ahead of time to
spend time with your family. Now
I’m away from that and I can spend
more time with my family.”Working in an office now, Gowingsaid that things are different this
year.
“It has changed quite a lot, but
now I have more time available,” he
said. “I will hopefully spend
Christmas Eve, Christmas Day,
Boxing Day and New Year’s with
my family.”
New Years is a special time in the
Gowing household since Ben,
Gowing’s oldest son, is a New Year’s
baby.
“We celebrate his birthday and
New Years at the same time as a
family,” Gowing said.
This year will be another marked
change, according to Gowing, since
it’s the first year that all his children
are out of the house. He said that this
marks a change he saw in his own
family as he grew up, since siblings
got together less often after they
moved out.
“As we can, we get together now,”
he said. “But our family has become
more spread out, distance-wise, and
we have gotten away from the big
family gatherings. It’s quite similar
to when I was young, I have three
older brothers and three older sistersand we had Christmas pretty muchwithin our household as I remember
it.”
He also said that, prior to having
his own family, he and his wife had
a unique Christmas season or two.
“More than 20 years ago now, I
spent Christmas with my wife in the
Caribbean on a cruise,” he said.
“Times have definitely changed
since then.”
Another change, this one more of
a choice, is that the Gowing family
has acquired some recreational
property over the past year and that
will play a part in their celebration.
“I hope to spend a day or two with
my family there and enjoy the
company and surroundings,” he said.
While the celebration of
Christmas has changed a lot for
Gowing, he said that, looking back,
the biggest change has been the
visual one.
“Christmas was always marked by
tall, tall snowbanks,” he said. “You
didn’t venture too far because quite
often you were afraid to. Weather
could been quite severe rather
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Christopher M. Smith, Michael S. Falconer,
Mark R. Rushton, Amanda Rich & Staff
Funeral Homes
Blyth Visitation Centre
Clinton Chapel 519-482-9521
As we celebrate the gladness and the glory
of this holy season, we’d like to express our
deepest feelings of friendship and goodwill to all of you.
GREETINGS OF THE SEASON
Greetings from the Municipality of Morris-Turnberry
Back row, from left: David Baker, John Smuck, Jamie McCallum, Neil Warwick, Jamie Heffer.
Front row: Clerk Nancy Michie, Mayor Paul Gowing, Deputy-Mayor Jason Breckenridge.
Celebrating
While times have changed several times over for Morris-Turnberry Mayor Paul Gowing and his
wife Jacquie, Christmas is still a time for family and friends for the Gowing clan. (Denny Scott photo)
Continued on page 36