Huron Expositor, 2001-12-26, Page 8a -THE HURON EXPOSITOR, DECEMBER 2S, 2001
What Christmas Means To Me
Treacherous trip brought Stefflers home for Christmas
To me, Christmas means
giving and family. Two
Christmases stand out in my
may.
As I was growing up, I knew
we were not a wealthy family but
there always seemed to be
enough love and laughter to make
me feel safe and axnfonable. My
father worked as a pipe fitter at
GM Diesel.
On oaeasion he got laid off for
long periods of time. During
those times, the money he earned
for pan of the year had to last for
the whole year. As I look back,
the Cluistnias I was eight or nine
must have been one of those
years.
I remember waking up on
Christmas morning filled with the
usual excitement and anticipation.
As I looked for the gifts under the
tree, there were none.
I remember turning around in
surprise and noticing on the living
room chair dozens of outfits for
my favourite doll. There were
slacks and tops, and skirts and
By Lin Steffler
What Christmas Mean To Me
dresses. Everything was "mix
and match" because it was all the
same green and cream material.
Mom had made everything out of
an old pair of drapes. ,
I looked up from the chair to
see my Mom and Dad standing in
1-1011Dili WRINGS
As we start our second year as the Municipality of
Central Huron, Council, Municipal staff, and Power
Corporation staff join together to wish you peace.
and serenity this holiday season;
COUNCIL
REEVE
Carol Mitchell
DEPUTY REEVE •
Bert Dykstra
COUNCILLORS
Marg Anderson
Bill Colquhoun
Laurie Cox
Tom Duizer
Alison Lobb
Darren Stevenson
1:••
ft •
the hallway watching me with
tears in their eyes. Suddenly I
knew. I grew up considerably
that day.
The only gift for them that
Christmas was the ability to give
me something. We spent time that
ADMINISTRATION
Clerk: Richard Harding, Treasurer: Rhonda Fischer
Brenda Armstrong, Belinda Axford, Barb Finlayson,
Brenda Maclsaac, Debbie Nikitin, Jane Plunkett, Shelly Pryce,
Sherri Vanneste, Judy Dixon
FACILITIES DEPARTMENT
Facilities Manager: Steve Campbell
Doug Dolmage, Gary Fleet, Shawn Gautreau, Mike Ladd,
Bev Marriage
PROTECTIVE SERVICES - BUILDING DEPT.
Chief Building Official - Protective Services
Officer: Andy DePutter
ROADS DEPARTMENT
Roads Manager: Tom Sinclair
Jason Cox, Ritchie Cox, Mike Dixon, Ian Hulley, Barry Lwin,
Jim Johnston, Randy Marriage, Gord Tait, Colin Vandenburg,
Arie Verhoet
UTILITIES/CLINTON POWER CORPORATION
Utilities Manager: Steve Gibbings
Don Bartliff, Paul Chambers, John Graham, Mark Krahn,
Steve Maguire, Bill VanWyk, Adam Wilson
day dressing and undressing that
doll together. It was one of the
happiest Christmases of my life.
I've never forgotten it.
The importance of family was
learned the second year Joe and I
were married. Now you must
know at the beginning of this
story, that I have a physical defect.
I've had it for er and my parents
knew and understood all about it.
Unfortunately, Joe and John have
had to leam to five with it I'm not
sure whether it's a short-cuarit in
the brain or whether it's just
because my bladder is too close to
my eyes. But I'm a sentimental
old sot and I ay at the drop of a
hat.
The Christmas of 1968 was
snowy and blustery. Joe and I had
decided we were on our own
now, the weather was lousy; and
the roads back to the
Brussele Crantbiook area weren't
the best for driving.
The police were warning
people to stay off the roads. We
were going to be adult about it
and have our own Cluistmass in
Stratford Well, that lasted till 9
p.m. By the time the Red Skelton
Ouistmas Special was over, I was
in tears.
Joe's the only one I know who
world do what he did that night
He didn't say a word — he just
started loading the car with all the
Christmas presents and said,
'Come an! We'll try it"
It was a treacherous trip. We
passed many accidents on the
way. k took us over two hours to
get from Stratford to the farm.
Everyone gave us the devil for
even being out — but we were
both happy. We'd made it home
to our families for Christmas.
Selfless acts create
warm fuzzies'
By James Montgomery
What Christmas Means To Me
Christmas is the happiest
as well as my favourite
time of year.
This year it has more
importance to me because
it is one of the last times I
will be able to see my
whole family before I go to
college next year.
Christmas is a time when
we can be joyous, share
that Christmas feeling.
Christmas is also the time
of year for giving.
It's not about what you
give or what you get, it's
about that warm and fuzzy
feeling you get that only
comes around,this time of
the year.
In my experience, this
feeling comes from the
selfless acts that people do
during this season. I have
witnessed the generosity
that people display.
We just finished running
two fundraisers at the high
school.
One was for the Huron
County Christmas Bureau
in which the students and
staff brought in
approximately 430 items of
canned goods, toys and
clothing. The other
fundraiser was for Sleeping
Children Around the World ,
(SCAW) and $1,000.05 was
See REMEMBER Page 12
Furniture
SHOPPING SPREE
Come on in a take a
browse. See our new look.
You'll be glad you stopped in.
Recently added to our decor
is the bistro the water & wall;
juvenile department and
individual showcase rooms.
Not to mention stain glass
windows a mural wall and a
state of the art computerized
body sleep system.
J