GOLDSTREAM Working Christmas
NEWS GAZETTE
OWNED AND OPERATED BY AN AWARD WINNING SOMMELIER & BEER JUDGE THANKS TO OUR LOYAL CUSTOMERS FOR THEIR SUPPORT DURING OUR RESTORATION AFTER OUR RECENT FIRE.
COMMUNITY: Beloved reindeer goes missing /A3 NEWS: Attacker sentenced for Langford assault /A7 SPORTS: Hoops tournaments recapped /A23
Not everyone can relax and be with family during this holiday Page A3
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Friday, December 25, 2015
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Hamper program will feed hundreds
Generosity on West Shore always amazes organizer Katherine Engqvist News Gazette staff
Arnold Lim/News Gazette staff
Colwood Mayor Carol Hamilton holds up a glass Christmas pickle ornament, one of her family’s holiday traditions.
Getting into a pickle a good thing at Christmas Arnold Lim News Gazette staff
Christmas comes in all shapes and sizes. Some celebrate, some don’t, but some families have their own unique traditions and that take the traditional family dinner and turn it on its head. In the case of the family of Colwood Mayor Carol Hamilton, they turn it on its pickle. “There is actually a glass pickle decoration and the deal is you hide it in the tree, and the person who finds it in the tree, gets a special gift,” she said. “It’s a hide and go seek kind of deal come Christmas morning. (Whomever) finds the pickle,
gets the pickle prize.” Hamilton said it was a version of the more well known Elf on the Shelf, and has been participating with her children as long as she can remember. She said it wasn’t just about the spoils that came with the winner. “The kids enjoyed that growing up and it wasn’t about the gift, it was the challenge of finding the pickle,” she said. “I will keep (the tradition) up and pass it along, buying pickles for (future generations) so they can start their own pickle traditions.” West Shore resident Bill McIlroy said his family started off giving each other gifts, but said their came a point when they didn’t need anything anymore. They eventually moved on to a $10 secret Santa gift exchange, but even that didn’t last long. “A few years ago, our grandchildren
decided that they had enough as well, so we started “adopting” a penguin or polar bear, by making a donation to the World Wildlife Fund,” he said. “My grandchildren are vegan, so about three years ago, we made a donation through World Vision to donate five fruit trees to a family in Africa. We will do something like this again this year.” Metchosin Fire Chief Stephanie Dunlop spent many a Christmas’ working dispatch. These days she is no longer on dispatch and her children are grown up, so the Metchosin resident doesn’t decorate or worry about Christmas at home. Instead she participates in new holiday activities at the fire hall replacing a handful of holiday activities that no longer work. PlEASE SEE: Choir singalongs, Page A5
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West Shore residents share their unique Christmas traditions
“It’s been pretty crazy,” said Gayle Ireland, president of the Westshore Christmas Hamper Fund, taking a moment to breathe this week. While the last of the approximately 650 holiday food and gift hampers distributed under the annual program went out last Friday (Dec. 18), she was expecting a few more to be assembled and picked up in the days leading up to Christmas. There’s always someone in need who misses the deadline due to unforeseen circumstances such as a stay in the hospital, an unexpected need, or as she said, “life bites you in the backside sometimes.” But even with those last few unexpected care packages trickling out, Ireland called the 2015 campaign and hamper distribution process “the smoothest year ever.” It was not without a few minor glitches, but the volunteers really came together and knew what needed to be done, she said. The number of hampers handed out was roughly the same as last year, Ireland said, and ranged in size based on the needs of the individual or families receiving them. “I think we did a lot of good and helped a lot of people.” While donations seemed a little slow at first, she said, the generosity of the people on the West Shore always amazes her. “The money always comes in,” she said. “We have tons of community support … we have a lot of groups donating … I’m proud of what we did (and) proud of the volunteers.” katie@goldstreamgazette.com