The Citizen - Dec. 23, 2021

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The

THIS WEEK

Citizen

Huron County’s most trusted independent news source

Thursday, December 23, 2021

Volume 37 No. 51

Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0

Sawchuk to lead provincial review

Almost Spielberg This holiday season, many area schools were able to uphold the time-honoured tradition of a Christmas or holiday concert, they just had to get a little creative to pull it off. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person concerts with auditoriums full of siblings, parents and grandparents were not to be, but classes, like this one

at Hullett Central Public School in Londesborough, were able to film their segments of the show, only to have it edited together with the rest of the school’s contributions into a video that parents could watch from home. From left: Clara deBoer, Eli Baxter, Cole Mason, Tyler Boven, Rachel Wilts, Carter Howson, Emily Josling and Bryce Dale. (Denny Scott photo)

The Ontario government continues the ongoing work of identifying, removing and preventing barriers for people with disabilities. The province is launching a review of the Design of Public Spaces accessibility standards. Blyth’s Julie Sawchuk has accepted an invitation to be the chair of the Standards Development Committee that will lead the review.

The committee will include people with disabilities from all across the province, as well as representatives from businesses, municipalities and other impacted stakeholders. It will review existing accessibility standards, and consider whether new standards might be needed.

Sawchuk is a best-selling author, professional speaker and accessibility strategist. She holds Bachelor of Science and Education degrees and is also a designated professional for Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification.

Sawchuk’s lived experience as a person who has a spinal cord injury offers an important perspective for the committee’s work.

“I am honoured that Julie Sawchuk has accepted the role of Continued on page 2

Nearly 60 COVID-19 cases linked to local schools

By Denny Scott The Citizen With numerous new COVID-19 cases and eight school outbreaks, Huron and Perth Counties, alongside the rest of the province, are in the ‘red’ zone of the now defunct colour-coded provincial reopening plan.

As of Monday, there have been 2,821 cumulative cases reported in Huron and Perth Counties since the start of the pandemic according to Huron Perth Public Health, with three individuals hospitalized due to the disease.

Fifty-nine cases have been reported in local schools due to outbreaks across the two areas.

Elma Township Public School has 26 students who have tested positive while North Perth Westfield Elementary School has 11 students and one staff member.

Other school cases have been reported at Listowel District Secondary School (two staff, three students), Milverton Public School

(four students), Little Falls Public School in St. Marys (four students), Howick Central Public School (three students), Clinton Public School (two students, one staff member) and St. Joseph’s Catholic Elementary School in Stratford (two students).

As far as local cases, every municipality across the two counties have reported new cases over the past two weeks.

In Huron County, 22 new cases were reported in Howick over the past two weeks for a cumulative total of 85. Fourteen new cases were reported in Central Huron for a cumulative total of 129. Huron East reported 12 new cases for a cumulative total of 198. South Huron reported 11 new cases (197), seven new cases were reported in Bluewater (80), six new cases were reported in Morris-Turnberry (90), four new cases were reported in North Huron, three new cases were reported in Goderich (51) and one new case was reported in AshfieldColborne-Wawanosh (ACW) (54).

In Perth County, North Perth broke 600 cases over the past two weeks, jumping from 589 to 632, an increase of 43 cases. Stratford reported 29 new cases for a cumulative total of 592. Perth East reported 24 new cases for a total of 342. St. Marys reported 17 new cases for a total of 83. West Perth reported eight new cases for a total of 109 while Perth South reported two new cases for a total of 76.

There were 112 active COVID-19 cases as of Monday including 12 in Howick, nine in Central Huron, six each in Huron East and South Huron, three in North Huron, two each in MorrisTurnberry and Goderich and one in ACW. In Perth County there are 23 active cases in North Perth, 19 in Stratford, 11 in St. Marys, nine in Perth East,

three in West Perth and one in Perth South.

Acquisition continues to be driven primarily by household and outbreak exposures, with 32.3 and 22.3 per cent of cases, respectively, being likely tied to those vectors.

Close contact with a known positive case is responsible for 18.8 per cent of cases while travel is responsible for 1.5 per cent of Continued on page 3

Ironmen split over the weekend

By Denny Scott The Citizen On points alone, the Wingham Ironmen find themselves tied with the Mount Forest Patriots for third place in the Provincial Junior Hockey League’s North Pollock Division after the Ironmen split their games over the weekend.

The Ironmen technically sit in fourth place in the division with 28 points, with the Patriots in third.

Currently the Hanover Barons sit in first place with 40 points, with the Mitchell Hawks in second, also with 40 points.

The Ironmen have a six-point lead over the fifth-place Kincardine Bulldogs, who have 22 points.

Over the weekend, the Ironmen posted a convincing 6-1 victory against the Flyers in Goderich on Sunday. On Friday, the first-place Barons edged out the Ironmen 3-2 in Wingham.

WINGHAM 6 GODERICH 1 The Ironmen started out strong against the Goderich Flyers, earning four goals and giving up only one in the first period of the game on Sunday, then scoring twice in the second.

Wingham’s four first-period goals were scored within the first nine minutes of the period, starting with Jacob Rauser finding the back of the net just over three minutes into Continued on page 8

PAGE 2. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Nearly $17 million for infrastructure from province

The Ontario government is providing almost $17 million to help build and repair local infrastructure in communities across Huron-Bruce.

This represents more than double what was granted in 2021 from the Ontario Communities Infrastructure Fund (OCIF).

“The OCIF is a very important program for local municipalities,”

said Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson. “The funds are used to repair, upgrade, and build roads, bridges, water and wastewater facilities, and other infrastructure assets. It helps keep our communities moving forward.”

Total investment in communities across Huron-Bruce are as follows: County of Huron, $4,396,180 ($2,417,826 in 2021); Bluewater,

Coming soon Julie Sawchuk of Blyth will now serve as the chair of the provincial government’s Standards Development Committee, which will lead a review of the province’s design of public spaces accessibility standards.

Sawchuk is seen above with Huron-Bruce MPP and Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Lisa Thompson. (Courtesy photo)

$575,357 ($286,380 in 2021); Brockton, $632,990 ($301,518 in 2021); Central Huron, $883,153 ( $483,847 in 2021); Huron East, $795,674 ($431,716 in 2021); Kincardine, $1,284,741 ($584,570 in 2021); Morris-Turnberry, $232,257 ($120,830 in 2021); South Bruce, $809,937 ($432,080 in 2021); South Huron, $1,210,703 ($688,269 in 2021); Goderich, $1,117,782 ($628,685 in 2021); Saugeen Shores, $1,738,454 ($848,610 in 2021); AshfieldColborne-Wawanosh, $442,460 ($238,800 in 2021); Howick, $178,576 ($88,051 in 2021); Huron-Kinloss, $618,216 ($275,793 in 2021); North Huron, $580,210 ($316,651 in 2021) and County of Bruce, $1,387,939 ($660,950 in 2021).

This investment is part of the government’s plan to build Ontario by getting shovels in the ground on critical infrastructure projects that support economic recovery, growth and job creation.

The announcement is part of the government’s additional $1 billion investment bringing the government’s total investment to nearly $2 billion over the next five years.

“Our small, rural and northern communities will be at the forefront of our efforts to build Ontario for the future,” said Premier Doug Ford. “With this investment, we are saying ‘yes’ to helping these communities build and repair the vital infrastructure they need to keep their communities working for decades to come.”

Funding allocations will be based on a formula that recognizes the different needs and economic conditions of communities across the province. The new formula will include an increased funding minimum of $100,000 for all communities per year, up from $50,000 over previous years.

“Communities are the heartbeat of this province and we know they are facing unique infrastructure needs and challenges, especially as we navigate through the pandemic,” said Kinga Surma, Minister of

Committee to begin work in ’22 Continued from page 1 chair of this Standards Development Committee,” said Raymond Cho, Minister for Seniors and Accessibility. “Her expertise and insights will be incredibly valuable in guiding the review of standards for accessibility in outdoor and indoor public spaces.”

Part of our government’s commitment to making Ontario more accessible and inclusive is breaking down barriers in the built environment. This is a key area of focus in the cross-government Advancing Accessibility in Ontario framework.

The Ontario government says it is continuing to work with all levels of government, community partners, and businesses to identify, prevent and remove barriers for people with disabilities.

“Creating accessible public spaces in Ontario is not the job of one person, it is the responsibility of all,” said Sawchuk. “I’m both grateful and incredibly proud to be asked to lead this discussion and look forward to adding a rural perspective as often as I can. This is an opportunity to bring people together to share what is working and what needs to be done differently in design and construction and to listen to all the

voices who are looking for change.”

The Design of Public Spaces

Standards Development Committee is expected to begin work in early 2022 and continue into 2023.

Infrastructure. “Our government has been with them every step of the way. When we were told more funding supports were needed, we listened and acted in a meaningful way by providing the largest OCIF increase since the start of the program. By doing so, we’re providing stability and predictability to small, rural and northern communities to repair, upgrade, and modernize their critical infrastructure so that they are safer, healthier, and more reliable for all.”

The province’s investment in OCIF is part of the 2021 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review: Build Ontario. The plan lays out how the government will build Ontario’s future with shovels in the ground for highways, hospitals, long-term care, housing, and high-speed internet. To ensure all families, workers and businesses in the province have a better and brighter future, our government’s planned infrastructure investments over the next decade total more than $148 billion.

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Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and all the very best for the New Year

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE 3.

Blyth BIA to unveil art projects in ’22

Inspiring awe When Blyth Community Betterment hosted its annual Santa Claus parade, one of the more awe-inspiring moments was a balloon release that left people cheering.

(John Stephenson photo)

The Blyth Business Improvement Area (BIA) will be unveiling two new art projects in the new year that were created over the course of 2021.

The first, a single installation consisting of a pair of statues representing an anticlimactic bicycle race in Blyth, is done but won’t be placed until the spring, according to BIA Chair David Sparling.

The statues, which show the beginning and end of a race between a pair of pennyfarthing bicycles, will be erected in Blyth with public art funding helping to foot the bill.

The race, which saw Clinton’s fastest rider take on Blyth’s, started where the Blyth post office is now and was set to go to Londesborough, however a collision between the two bicycles in front of what is now the Blyth Christian Reformed Church totalled the vehicles, ending the race. The statues will mark the beginning and impromptu end of the race.

Vaccinations gaining in H-P Continued from page 1 exposures resulting in infection.

One quarter of all COVID-19 cases in Huron and Perth Counties are tied to an unknown exposure.

Huron Perth Public Health has 208 active COVID-19 contacts, bringing the total to 10,492 since the pandemic began.

Over the past two weeks, Huron and Perth County’s incidence rate, or the number of cases per 100,000 has nearly doubled from 47.9 to 80.9, which is in the red zone of the province’s colour-coded reopening plan. The positivity per cent for the ara, or the percentage of cases that come back positive, more than doubled over the same period, from 2.75 per cent to 5.53.

VACCINATION Vaccination efforts continue in Huron and Perth Counties with significant gains being made over the past two weeks in third doses.

The number of residents with at least one vaccine climbed from 111,950 to 114,021 over the past

two weeks, or from 81 per cent of eligible recipients to 82.1 per cent.

The number of fully-vaccinated residents climbed from 106,807 to 107,402, or from 77 per cent of eligible recipients to 77.4.

The number of individuals who are fully-vaccinated and have their third dose more than doubled from 8,531 to 21,719, or from six per cent of eligible recipients to 15.7 per cent.

Vaccination statistics for those from Huron and Perth Counties with at least one dose identified by demographic are below: • 5-11: 4,073 (34.4 per cent of eligible recipients) • 12-17: 7,715 (76.7) • 18-24: 8,696 (71.8) • 25-29: 6,895 (80.6) • 30-39: 13,400 (81.7) • 40-49: 13,230 (82.6) • 50-59: 17,028 (85.2) • 60-69: 20,423 (97.6) • 70-79: 14,494 (99.7) • 80+: 8,067 (93.7) Statistics for fully-vaccinated

individuals in Huron and Perth Counties are as follows: • 5-11: 217 (1.8 per cent) • 12-17: 7,408 (73.7) • 18-24: 8,301 (76.7) • 25-29: 6,558 (68.5) • 30-39: 12,892 (78.6) • 40-49: 12,873 (80.4) • 50-59: 16,493 (82.6) • 60-69: 20,127 (96.4) • 70-79: 14,390 (99.7) • 80+: 8,143 (95.7) Statistics for fully-vaccinated individuals with a booster shot in Huron and Perth Counties are as follows: • 12-17: 32 (0.3 per cent) • 18-24: 240 (2) • 25-29: 322 (3.8) • 30-39: 815 (5) • 40-49: 957 (6) • 50-59: 2,548 (12.8) • 60-69: 4,296 (20.6) • 70-79: 7,462 (52.9) • 80+: 5,047 (61.8) For more information, visit Huron Perth Public Health at hpph.ca.

His master-purpose!

(Charles Spurgeon, “Christ’s Incarnation, the Foundation of Christianity”) Let us gather with grateful boldness around the infant in the manger, and behold our God! “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins!”

Matthew 1:21

Sparling said the BIA will also unveil, next year, an art piece created by accomplished illustrator Randy Jones. The art will be on the Goderich-to-Guelph (G2G) Rail Trail and encourage visitors to come to Blyth. The project is partially funded through Regional Tourism Organization 4 (RTO4) and will also provide the BIA with marketing materials.

Sparling said the BIA may attempt to unveil both installations the same weekend to create a confluence of art openings.

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The Citizen Holiday Schedule The Brussels Office will be closed December 22, 2021 at 2:00 pm Open January 3 at 10:00 am The Blyth Office will be closed December 23, 2021 at 4:00 pm Open January 3 at 9:00 am

The great object of our Lord’s coming here was not to live, but to die.

Warm wishes for a wonderful Christmas and all the best for the New Year

He appeared, not so much to subdue sin by His teaching, or to manifest goodness, or to perfect an example for us to imitate — but “to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”

There will be no paper published on Thursday, December 30

The modern teachers of error would thrust the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus into the background — but our Lord placed it in the forefront. He came to take away our sins.

Do not think of Jesus without remembering the design of His coming.

We preach Christ — so do a great many more. But, “we preach Christ crucified!” 1 Corinthians 1:23. We preach, concerning our Lord—His cross, His blood, His death!

Upon the blood of His cross we lay great stress extolling much “the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” by putting away their sin “by the sacrifice of Himself.”

We will not deny, or conceal, or depreciate “His master-purpose—lest we be found guilty of trampling upon His blood, and treating it as an unholy thing.

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst!” 1 Timothy 1:15 A Grace Gem Submitted by: Immanuel United Reformed Church, Listowel, ON 519-492-1359

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PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Editorials & Opinions

Founding Publisher: Keith Roulston Publisher & President: Deb Sholdice Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising Sales: Brenda Nyveld The Citizen is published 51 times a year in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $40.00/year ($38.10 + $1.90 G.S.T.) in Canada; $190.00/year in U.S.A. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited.

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The Citizen P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. N0M 1H0 N0G 1H0 Ph. 519-523-4792 Phone Fax 519-523-9140 519-887-9114 E-mail info@northhuron.on.ca Website www.huroncitizen.ca Member CCNA

Member of the Ontario Press Council We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright

Santa, a test please...

Who would’ve thought that the hottest item this holiday season would be a COVID-19 antigen rapid test, but here we are. People lined up for hours last week at city liquor stores where free, at-home testing kits were being handed out by the Government of Ontario, only to leave emptyhanded when the stock ran out. Online sources of the at-home tests are almost completely sold out.

With the Omicron variant surging across Ontario and families distraught at the thought of another Zoom Christmas with loved ones, people are grasping at any straw that might allow some sense of normalcy. Boosters are recommended, but appointments are scarce and clinics are filling up quickly, so families are hoping that negative tests will give security that their gatherings won’t spread the dreaded illness.

Restrictions are creeping back with capacity limits for large venues reintroduced last week and then restaurants and bars seeing capacities and serving hours reduced. Gathering limits for both indoor and outdoor visits have been slashed. While not the “circuit breaker” lockdowns of previous waves, it certainly has put a damper on the festive season.

Caution and restraint are the buzzwords of the season, while the country, and the world, try to navigate the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 during the holidays. – DS

It ain’t over ’til...

Two major aspects of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s current narrative appear to be crumbling down around him with the findings of the Jan. 6 Commission becoming more damning by the day and his claims of widespread voter fraud costing him the 2020 election being seemingly discredited, though it’s unlikely he’ll see it that way.

An Associated Press review of every potential case of voter fraud in six key states has turned up fewer than 475 cases of actual chicanery, nowhere near the level of fraud that would have affected the election.

The disputed ballots found by the Associated Press represent just 0.15 per cent of President Joe Biden’s margin of victory in the states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, not nearly enough to sway the results, even if they were all for Biden (they weren’t) and even if they were counted (they weren’t, in most cases).

Meanwhile, daily revelations from the Jan. 6 Commission, looking into the deadly insurrection at The Capitol, show that even some of Trump’s family members and most ardent supporters pleaded with him to condemn the violence that would eventually result in loss of life and appear to many as an attempt to overthrow the government. The text messages being released through White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows show that just about everyone but Trump and his rabid supporters knew things had gotten out of hand and needed to stop, painting a picture of a man who would plumb unthinkable depths if it meant there was a return to the White House in it for him.

While many Trump supporters seem prepared to accept anything their leader says, irrefutable evidence continues to accumulate for the rest of us. It’s a wonder that Trump hasn’t been called to face the music for what he’s done, but that remains a tricky situation with his rabid supporter base and its willingness to incite violence. – SL

Time for municipal change If everything goes according to plan, Huron East’s Brussels Ward will have a new municipal representative shortly after the new year is rung in, and, fortunately, everyone who put their name forward has a history with politics and/or volunteerism and appears to have the best interest of the community at heart. However, the fact that only one of those potential representatives actually lives in Brussels shines a light on an issue that could cause problems in communities throughout Ontario.

Technically, according to the Municipal Act, anyone can run in any ward in a municipality in which they own land. As stated, all three seem to have their heart in the right place, but that may not always be the case and it may be time to put a limit on where people can and can’t run.

The ward system only works if the people elected in a ward want the best for that ward. The way the rules read now, someone who doesn’t think they can win in one ward can simply hop a border to win in another or, worse yet, try to “stack the deck” by people from special interest groups running across borders to elect an entire, like-minded council.

Using North Huron as an example, people in Blyth need to represent Blyth because the community is unique. Someone from Wingham deciding to try to run in Blyth for a better chance of getting elected won’t know the community and have the same hopes for it going forward. This is also why the ward system is so important because, in a community like North Huron, it would be very easy for every representative to come from Wingham if wards weren’t in place.

So while Brussels will be well-represented, regardless of Huron East Council’s decision, the fact that this caveat exists and can be used towards more nefarious ends shows that we do need a change. – JDS

Looking Back Through the Years December 23, 1974 Duff’s United Church in Walton held its annual Sunday school Christmas concert on Dec. 15 in front of a large crowd.

The primary class presented a piece called “Christmas Ifs” with recitations from Jeff McGavin, Gary Godkin, Joyanne Van Vliet, Susie Hickson, Lori Smith, Blaine Hackwell, Darlene Gulutzen, Tim Fritz, Darryl Hoegy, Cheryl Smith, Sandra Sholdice, Darryl Smith and Christine Achilles. Sholdice and Achilles also entertained the crowd with a step dancing performance.

The intermediate class presented “The Story of the First Christmas”.

The narrator was Jim McDonald, the singers were Janis Van Vliet, Dianne Godkin, Laura Dennis, Nanci Bennett, Jeff Hackwell, Steven Huether, Bob Leeming, Doug Mitchell, Pam Hackwell and Ruthie Thamer and on the piano were Dianne Godkin and Laura Dennis.

A book celebrating the history of Auburn was hot off the presses thanks to the hard work of the Auburn Women’s Institute. It had been printed at Blyth Printing.

December 20, 2007 With a curator no longer in place at the North Huron Museum, representatives of the Barn Dance Historical Society expressed their concern with the building not being staffed or open to the public. As a result, the organization was withholding rent payments, stating that there should be an adjustment in the rates.

Caitlin Scarrow, a Grade 4 student at Brussels Public School, worked to save her coins for several weeks in an effort to raise money for the Huron County Christmas Bureau. By the time she had done

all the counting, nearly $25 was there for the charitable organization.

An epic hockey game had been set for Blyth on Dec. 28 with the All-Ontario PeeWee Blyth team from 1972-1973 taking on the championship Bantam squad from the 1992-1993 season to raise money for Blyth Minor Hockey.

Former NHL player Bob Probert, formerly of the Detroit Red Wings, would be playing on the 1972-1973 squad and Jack Lee, who refereed many of the team’s games in the championship year, would also be on hand to drop the puck.

Blyth welcomed a new business in Davara Studio, a new pottery studio owned by Dave and Tamara Riach. The couple had plans to open the studio every Saturday for the foreseeable future to offer stained glass, clay and wood creations. Tommy Hunter, also known as Canada’s Country Gentleman, was set to return to Blyth for a show in early 2008, the year he was set to turn 70.

December 22, 2011 The Huron County Planning and Development Department told councillors that planning fees would increase by an average of 14 per cent over the subsequent five years. The county’s fees had last been reviewed in 2005, at which time Huron County Council was aiming to make planning more of a user-pay system, rather than having shortfalls covered by taxpayer dollars.

Jenny Versteeg, chair of the Avon Maitland District School Board, said a tough year could be expected for the board. She specifically cited accommodation issues and ongoing labour negotiations as factors in the coming year in regards to the

board’s budget process.

Huron Ontario Provincial Police officer Russell Nesbitt of Blyth received his 10-year pin from the local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Sandra Lee made the presentation at the organization’s annual year-end raffle.

The Londesborough United Church held its annual Christmas concert, which featured performances by the Brohman family, Barb Bosman, Paige Gibbings, the men of the church’s choir and others.

Area schools like Brussels, East Wawanosh and Blyth Public Schools held their final Christmas concerts, as they were all slated for closure at the end of the 2011-2012 school year.

At Brussels Public School, concert organizers Jose Gillespie and Warren Wray said they wanted to keep the presentation as normal as possible so that the closure was the furthest thing from the students’ minds.

Huron County Council found itself facing large costs and very few options at its Nov. 30 meeting.

There, council discussed with its insurance company the presence of asbestos in the Huron County courthouse after the damage caused by the tornado that hit Goderich earlier that year.

Whether the asbestos was present in the building before it was damaged or if it migrated there as a result of extensive damage throughout the town made no difference to the insurance company, council heard, and any cost associated with cleaning asbestos from the building would not be borne by the insurance company.

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE 5.

Other Views

Changes surrounding Christmases

T

here’s actually snow on the ground as I sit by the window typing this column, but there’s warm weather in the forecast for this week, so who knows if it will be a white Christmas or not.

Back in November, when we alternated between snow and melting, the possibility of a green Christmas seemed much more remote, yet here we are, days before the big day and we can’t be sure if we’ll have a white Christmas or not.

It didn’t used to be this way. I remember one green Christmas we had when I was young, back in the 1950s, standing out because it was so different. In those days when presents under the Christmas tree were much fewer than today, getting a new sleigh – or even more special, a toboggan – was a huge pleasure, but part of the joy was getting together with the other neighbourhood boys to slide down the big hill on our farm north of Lucknow. That particular winter, the joy was postponed.

I haven’t counted it up, lately, but it seems green Christmases have become much more frequent in recent years as the climate has changed, driven, apparently, by the increase in the amount of carbon dioxide spewed into the air by the affluent Western nations.

Christmas is the one time snow is fashionable. Look at an old-time movie with a Christmas theme and you’ll always see snow – even if the movie was made in sunny Hollywood where they had to fake the snow.

The modern media machine turns out dozens of new Christmas movies a year – many, if not most, made in Canada – but they’re usually made in summer with the addition of fake snow.

The ancient climate of Europe and Britain set the traditions of a snow-decorated

Keith Roulston From the cluttered desk Christmas. The early North American storytellers in the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada continued the tradition. There have been attempts to reset the tradition in California or in southern-hemisphere Australia or New Zealand, but they just haven’t caught on.

But once you get Christmas over, or at the very latest, New Year’s Eve, the value of snowcovered scenery is forgotten. When it comes to snow, enough already! Let’s get on with the sunny spring-like weather!

This has traditionally begun a tough time for those of us in most of Canada. Christmas – even if we’d had a white one – traditionally only begins the winter season. We have months of winter ahead, even if we do manage to skip most of the snow, as climate-changed winter has often done in recent years.

It would be enough to make you laugh, if it wasn’t so serious. The winter before we moved to our Blyth-area farmhouse in 1975, had been mild, with the only real winter storm coming in April and lasting about two or three days before the snow melted again.

The rest of the late 1970s and early 1980s were a different story. I remember one winter when they built a huge V-plow at George Radford Construction in Blyth which they mounted on their biggest bulldozer and used on our road and others to push back the snowbanks that had built up.

Later, reconstruction of Hwy. 4 gave special attention to redesigning the landscaping of the roadsides so snowbanks wouldn’t build up and cause so many visibility issues. (I remember earlier delivering papers to Belgrave one night after dark and visibility being so bad I drove into a snowbank on the wrong side of the highway on my way home!)

Along the way I have bought an all-wheeldrive vehicle so that I don’t fear snow-laden roads, though I don’t face them nearly as often.

I feel sorry for snowmobile sales outlets and operators of ski resorts who can’t count on when they’ll be able to open, or for how long.

And I was reading recently about the difficulties suffered by that most Canadian of all manufacturers – maple syrup makers. I’m not sure if you heard, but spring was so fouledup in Quebec last year that there’s a maple syrup shortage. Writing in the Globe and Mail, Christian Messier, Professor of Forestry at Université du Québec en Outaousais, says that 50 million pounds, half of Québec’s stored surplus, was released to ease the shortage. He also warns of droughts that are affecting sugar maples more than oaks or pines and beetles that are arriving from China, hitch-hiking in shipping pallets that endanger our native maples.

One of the things about Christmastime that make it so reassuring is the sense of timelessness. We’re fooling ourselves, of course. Christmas changes. Santa’s biggest parade in Canada used to be sponsored by a huge chain that no longer exists. Churches, many of them closed, used to be the centre of Christmas celebrations.

But Christmas goes on, and with it the best wishes of the season. All the best to you and yours this Christmas.

Morally right or wrong, it doesn’t look good

O

riginally, I had set out, in this space, to espouse the important messages that Christmas movies always spread this time of year: love yourself, love your neighbour, love mankind, peace, blessings and, of course, don’t stick your tongue to a metal pole in the winter. Unfortunately for those looking for a reprieve from my traditionally dour tone, I stumbled across a couple issues last week that just made me wonder how people can be so tone deaf.

Take, for example, the Mansfield Private Ski Club which, due to an influx of new customers and the Canada emergency wage subsidy (CEWS), was able to post a huge surplus and upgrade its snow-making system.

The private, not-for-profit club, which costs $15,000 to join and $10,000 per year in dues, posted an $815,000 surplus this year after receiving $563,371 through the subsidy. For those keeping track, the previous fiscal year, the club posted a $52,000 profit. Reports indicate the club brought in $492,000 in those $15,000 initiation fees, which was reported as the club’s “best new member year in several decades.”

According to club information, the wage subsidy and high level of initiation fees is enabling the replacement of a 50-year-old snow-making system.

If you’re doing the math, you may realize that the club easily brought in enough to cover what the subsidy gave. However, according to the CBC, there’s no evidence that the club broke any rules of the CEWS program.

I am going to wag a finger at the club, but not for the obvious fact that it didn’t need taxpayer money to make ends meet this year (and even in the club’s own announcements, the owners had planned on replacing the equipment next year, so they obviously weren’t in danger of shutting

Denny Scott Denny’s Den down), nor am I going to wag a finger at the government for this system coming into being.

No, the finger-wagging here is at the club because this is maybe the worst time to make an announcement like that.

When I said above that the club said the CEWS helped to fund the upgrade, that wasn’t paraphrasing. The CBC reported that club treasurer Gary Walters wrote the following in a report to members earlier this year: "This season's solid financial position (primarily driven by the wage subsidy and high level of initiation fees) has made essential capital work possible and also provided us with the funds to replace our 50-year-old snow-making compressors, a year earlier than planned.”

Ignoring what I would anticipate is a pretty class-based system (I mean, having enough disposable income needed to pay $15,000 to be a member of, and $10,000 to access the club certainly would be difficult for the middle class), the fact that many people were without work or were living on assistance over the pandemic just makes this kind of governmentsponsored expenditure look bad.

The club’s representatives could have done it quietly, or say that the higher-than-expected profits put the savings necessary over the top, instead of flat-out saying the wage subsidy is responsible for the upgraded snow machine. It speaks to a level of disconnect with the rest of the country that is morally wrong, if there

wasn’t something legally wrong about posting those kinds of profits on top of the CEWS. It just looks bad, right?

Next, we turn to the federal Conservative Party, which took a pretty odd stance last week. The party’s representatives flat out said that international travel was fine for its members, despite many medical officers of health talking about the importance of staying at home right now.

Again, there may not be anything legally wrong with the claim, but when the Liberal Party and the NDP agree that our MPs should set an example, the best course of action is to follow suit. The second-best course of action would be to shut up about it.

The whole thing is tone deaf on a number of levels. First, it’s ignoring the suggestions of the health units, doctors and scientists trying to lead us out of the pandemic. Second, it speaks to the fact that politics is one of the few careers that is recession-proof because this conversation is taking place at a time in which some people are struggling to give their family a Christmas, let alone travel internationally, due to the pandemic. Finally, it shows that, despite all the best intentions of the party’s leader Erin O’Toole to seem a bit more moderate than his predecessors, the party itself still wants to be a fringe party.

To paraphrase the words of The Dude from The Big Lebowski, just because you’re not in the wrong doesn’t mean you’re in the right.

Final Thought I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.

– Charles Dickens

Shawn Loughlin Shawn’s Sense

What a year it’s been

T

he end of the year is a perfect time for reflection. Last year, tragedy struck on my block and I reflected on the loss of my friend Greg Sarachman just before the holidays. This year, my first full 365 days of being a father, it only makes sense to reflect on all having Tallulah in my life has meant to me over the last 12 months. (It makes sense to me, anyway. Despite not wanting to be someone who writes about his daughter all the time, I understand people quite enjoy such columns).

This won’t be Tallulah’s first Christmas; she was around for last year’s festivities, inasmuch as there were festivities, but she was only about six months old. This year, however, should be really fun. Just last week she took her first steps, so it’ll be fun having her bobbling around the tree, poking at presents.

With those two bookends in place, it’s neat to think back to all that has changed over the course of the last year. Tallulah is now walking and talking (a few words - her first one was “Dada” - but she’s certainly communicating) and she’s really grown into a little person over this time, self-sufficient to a certain extent with her very own list of likes and dislikes and even the budding of her own personality.

Mischievous is the way that Jess put it when filling out forms for Tallulah’s daycare, which begins in the new year. Call it what you will, but she definitely likes to make people laugh.

She likes to surprise and be surprised, she likes her books, she likes Cash Cab, as I mentioned in a previous column, and she loves her family.

She likes to play hide-and-seek and she loves to stack things. She likes to point at things so you can tell her what they are. (Thanks to my Joe Beef and Liverpool House shirts - with designs by the artist Benoit Tardif - she is learning a lot about different fish, shellfish, meat, wine and cakes. The same game isn’t so fun with a shirt with just words on it. Telling her that she’s pointing at a “B” just doesn’t have the same excitement level as a lobster.)

She likes looking in her closet and being in her Jolly Jumper. She likes to snuggle with her parents and does not like to get out of bed too early in the morning. There’s a process in the mornings - a gradual one.

It is amazing though to see just how far she’s come and what a difference a year can make.

In the last year we’ve had the joy of watching Tallulah crawl for the first time, speak for the first time and now walk for the first time. More firsts will come, but those are big ones.

Before Tallulah was born, Jess and I would ask each other about our unborn baby all the time, wondering whether it would be a boy or a girl, and what we thought our child would be like and look like. Now, we will often discuss how lucky we are and how happy Tallulah has made us. That fact is not lost on us and we really try to soak up every moment we all have together, because it’s hard to think of a time when we’ve been happier in our lives.

Of course, things aren’t perfect. Every day has its challenges, we are still in the grips of a worldwide pandemic that seems to be going anywhere but away and there will never be enough steaks in the freezer but we know we’re lucky to have brought such a sweet, good-natured, smart and affectionate little girl into the world. And she’s all ours.

For me and Jess, it feels like this is how things were always supposed to turn out. I know she was born to be a great mother and I hope she thinks of me as a natural father. And Tallulah has been so patient and loving with us that it’s hard to imagine a better little person to teach us how to be parents, have that same patience and love so unconditionally.

PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

‘Christmas in the Barn’ tells Nativity story A NOTE FROM BETTY

By Betty Graber Watson Call 887-9231 Advent 2021 is nearly over. The anticipation of Christmas is real.

Each year is new and we see this very old, holy season, with new eyes and heart. That’s what makes the memories of Christmases past so

important. We review the changes in our lives and see how each one builds on the others. Change is what makes life so interesting. What’s happening this year? What changed from last or the decade before? Each memory is a gift.

Gatherings at this time of year are opportunities to tell stories. Each decade has a flavour and living in that time gives your unique view.

Christmas concerts, church pageants, getting to school, Santa Claus tales all bring laughter and often disbelief as we share the review of our festivities. There are many great stories, just waiting to be shared.

Each year, as we work our way towards Christmas, the symbols of the season are in full view. When you think about wreaths or candles, trees or bells, candy canes or mangers, they had their start long, long ago. They are all part of the Christmas story, each coming with details of their own, so we choose the ones that speak to us. The circle of love from the wreath, the shepherd staff for the candy cane, God’s love from the candle. Stories from long ago are just that, stories, and it’s up to us to pick the ones that speak loudest.

The Conservation Area was well used on Sunday. The United Church

Community serving The Brussels Legion, earlier this month, hosted a special take-out turkey dinner. The event served 180 and was lauded for its quality and its quantity in online reviews. (John Stephenson photo)

At the Branch

‘Ace’ jackpot to hit $7,100

By Jo-Ann McDonald Merry Christmas to all from the Brussels Legion family. We hope everyone has an enjoyable break even during this difficult time of navigating through all the concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

The week at the Brussels Legion was quiet, but the weekend made up for it. It was a busy Friday night with food, the Catch the Ace draw, Christmas draws and music. The food available was poutine and it is always popular. Next, the Catch the Ace draw was held and the weekly winner was Pam McLean. She won $273 to make her Christmas a little brighter! She chose envelope number 15 and the nine of spades was revealed. The jackpot grows to an estimated $7,100. The Catch the Ace draw was organized by Sandra Brown, Lisa Glanville and Joan Smith.

Christmas draws were held during the course of the evening with many happy folks at the end of the evening. The night was organized by entertainment committee representative Lisa Glanville with prizes by Jo-Ann, tickets by Nanci Ducharme, Jamie Mitchell, Andy Overholt, cooking Deb Ross and Kathy Burkholder.

Following the draw, it was time for karaoke with Stubby D. A good crowd was on hand to listen, join in and have a good time.

The final event for the Brussels Legion was the Richmond family gathering to celebrate their Christmas. A small group, but a lively bunch with lots of little people to entertain them. They enjoyed a turkey dinner before

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concluding their get-together.

Branch helpers included Sandra

Brown, Kathy Burkholder and Linda Bird.

folks held worship in the park with “Christmas in the Barn” the focus.

The Nativity story was reviewed in the fresh morning air with scripture and song highlighting the many partners involved in this famous stable story.

With leadership from Student Minister Alex Jebson and organization from Beth Earl and Julie Harrison, the story was told.

The animals found their places in the barn. The cow warmed the manger spot and the donkey kept guard. Angels descended to the straw bales, the shepherds got the sheep settled and Mary and Joesph arrived. Each entry to the barn was there for a reason and that was our challenge. Who do you relate to in the stable and what gifts do you share with others? The old story was seen in a new way and our generation will test, review and celebrate this holy time.

The gifts of Advent are ones that we wish were obvious all year. The four weeks of Advent offer hope, peace, joy and love, each offering Christmas a base to begin anew.

Each child born is a gift bringing hope to that family. With that gift, hope continues, and peace is sought. Joy and love are

spontaneous as a child grows. Life goes on and we do our part to make it good.

Season’s Greetings from the Graber and Watson clans and may you joyfully celebrate the 12 days of Christmas with your selected people in a safe and fitting manner.

Merry Christmas from Betty G.W.

NEWS FROM BRUSSELS

Brussels Legion 218 Catch the Ace Weekly Winner Winning Ticket: Pam McLean $273 Envelope #15 found the 9 of Spades Estimated jackpot is $7100

Royal Canadian Legion Brussels Branch 218 Wishes to extend Christmas Tidings and New Year Wishes to all its members and faithful supporters for all their work and support this past year.

Best Wishes for a Happy 2022.

Dishing it out Brussels Legion President Jamie Mitchell was on hand earlier this month to help out with a drive-thru turkey meal at the service club. The event, held on Dec. 5, brought out 180 diners. (John Stephenson photo)

Wishing you Sew much Happiness this year!

Merry Christmas from

www.barmytech.on.ca 42659 Walton Rd. WALTON VENTURE CENTRE

519-887-9393 ~ Walton

CRAWFORD, MILL & DAVIES ROSS E. DAVIES, B.A., LL.B., U.L. CONOR T. O’KEEFE, B.A., B. Mgmt., LL.B. BARRISTERS & SOLICITORS

LUCKNOW Tel: 519-528-2818 Fax: 519-528-2848

WINGHAM Tel: 519-357-3630 Fax: 519-357-2798

BRUSSELS Tel: 519-887-9491 Fax: 519-887-9148

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE 7.

In-person meetings a barrier for BIA

By Denny Scott The Citizen

After missing back-to-back meetings due to a lack of quorum, the Blyth Business Improvement Area (BIA) executive was able to host a public meeting on Dec. 16 to discuss the organizations efforts over the previous year.

BIA Chair David Sparling said meetings will continue to be held in-person, which could be a barrier to participation due to COVID-19, as long as North Huron mandates it so. He did say, however, that the rising concern around the Omicron variant of COVID-19 could result in online meetings returning in the near future.

North Huron Councillor Kevin

Falconer said, if the BIA was having difficulties due to COVID19 restrictions, meetings could be moved to a non-township-owned location, which would have less stringent rules. Sparling said, however, that with the amount of space needed between participants, such a space would be difficult to locate. *** The Blyth BIA executive, which, on behalf of local businesses, supported stop lights at the corner of County Roads 4 and 25, is content with the direction that Huron County Council is taking at the corner.

During the BIA’s Dec. 16 meeting, BIA Chair David Sparling said, as a group, the BIA was in

favour of the stop lights. He said he had heard other concerns ranging from the need to be forward thinking with a roundabout to leaving the intersection as it is, but he was content that the BIA executive’s direction had been recognized in how the project was going forward. *** The Destination Ontario organization will be highlighting Blyth in the coming year as part of the success of Huron County’s Huron Hygge project.

The project, which is under the Ontario’s West Coast banner, was designed to encourage activities to embrace hygge, a Danish concept denoting a quality of coziness, contentment and well-being,

according to the organization’s website.

Sparling said Blyth being focused on will be a real win for the community, noting that having a Danish-centred bakery recently open up in Brød Bread and Pastry certainly couldn’t hurt. *** The Blyth BIA will be inviting Central Huron Secondary School students to its January meeting to talk about the students’ shopping-bag-reduction campaign.

Earlier this year, students visited the BIA to talk about a number of initiatives they had undertaken for environmental causes, and the BIA had bought into some, including having a mask disposal box purchased to help cut down on mask waste. Sparling said the shopping bag campaign is also of interest and said the executive would be reaching out to invite students to its Jan. 27 meeting.

NEWS FROM BLYTH Let us Wash Your Winter Coats Blyth Laundromat 191 Westmoreland St., Blyth 519-523-9687

And wishing you the very best in the coming new year!

Lisa Thompson, MPP Huron-Bruce

Busy season

Constituency Offices

Late November and early December prove to be very busy for the Brussels Legion Pipe Band with parades happening on several consecutive weekends including the Blyth Santa Claus parade, shown above, earlier this month. (John Stephenson photo)

BLYTH OFFICE 408 Queen Street Blyth, ON N0M 1H0 Ph: 519-523-4251

Hoping for a better year in 2022 From Marilyn’s Desk

better than this past year has been.

Stay safe and have a good week.

Call someone and wish them Merry Christmas.

KINCARDINE OFFICE 807 Queen Street, Unit 2 Kincardine, ON N2Z 2Y2 Ph: 519-396-3007

Website: www.lisathompsonmpp.ca Email: lisa.thompsonco@pc.ola.org

By Marilyn Craig Call 523-9318

Happy birthday to Karen Mason who will celebrate on Dec. 23; Bill Howson, Dec. 28 and Brock Vodden, Dec. 29. Happy birthday everyone, enjoy your special day.

Happy anniversary to Rob and Karen Mason, who will celebrate on Dec. 28.

Here it is the last few days before Christmas and the weather so far looks like we will get our white Christmas. We have had a few green Christmases in the past, but a white Christmas is on everyone’s mind. With COVID-19 restrictions similar to last Christmas, our gatherings will be small, but we will hope for a better year in 2022.

Dave and I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and all the best in 2022, hoping next year is

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Thanks to this community for your trust, support and friendship through the years.

May faith, friends and loved ones light up your life this Christmas season and always!

The Citizen Casey Boven and family Blyth

519-523-4757

405 Queen St., Blyth 519-523-4792

541 Turnberry St., Brussels 519-887-9114

PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Sports Ironmen split weekend games, retain fourth

One shot...

The Wingham Ironmen came out on the wrong side of a home game against the Hanover Barons on Friday night, losing by a score of 3-2, but they bounced back on Sunday with a 6-1 win over the Goderich Flyers on the road. The Ironmen remain in fourth place in the North Pollock division of the Provincial Junior Hockey League. (John Stephenson photo) Continued from page 1 the game. Nate Bloemberg assisted Rauser on the goal.

Wingham’s Evan Visser then scored back-to-back markers, the first assisted by Dawson Fahrer and the second a solo effort.

Wingham’s fourth goal was scored by Eric Gulutzan, his first of the season, assisted by Kyle Stanbury and Dana Smith.

Goderich’s Riley Kuepfer responded just before the 11-minute mark in the first period, assisted by Connor Hill, marking the last goal of the period.

Over 15 minutes into the second period, Visser earned a hat-trick with his third goal, another solo effort. Wingham’s Bloemberg then earned the last goal of the game assisted by David Kozak.

Garrett Golley earned the win in net for Wingham, stopping 24 of 25 shots, while Goderich’s goaltending responsibilities were shared by Thomas Brintnell and Ryan Murray.

Brintnell played the first 40 minutes of the game, stopping 26 of 32 shots. Murray finished out the game for Goderich, playing the entirety of the third period and stopping all seven of the shots he faced.

There were plenty of power play opportunities throughout the game, with Goderich serving 40 penalty minutes on nine infractions and Wingham serving 23 minutes on 10 infractions, however neither team capitalized on those opportunities.

Within the first minute of the game, Goderich’s Carson Fletcher was called for slashing, serving a two-minute penalty.

After an incident just over six minutes in, Wingham’s Payten Wheeler was assessed a fourminute spearing penalty, while Goderich’s Kuepfer was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct (two minutes).

Goderich’s Cohen Le Souder was then assessed a two-minute holding penalty. During the same play, Le Souder’s teammate Kyler Patterson was called for unsportsmanlike conduct (10 minutes).

The last penalty of the first saw Trevor Klee of Wingham assessed a two-minute slashing penalty.

Wingham’s Visser had the first penalty of the second, being penalized for four minutes for kneeing. His teammate Jonah Burley was then called for tripping, and assessed a two-minute penalty.

Goderich’s Kuepfer had the last penalty of the second, being called for goalie interference (two minutes).

The third period saw eight penalties called, however seven of them were as a result of a very late incident in the game.

Wingham’s Rauser had the oneoff penalty, being called for interference and serving two minutes.

With two seconds left in the game, however, a fight broke out resulting in the remaining penalties.

Wingham goaltender Golley was assessed two minutes for roughing, as was his teammate Rauser. Smith, also of Wingham, received a fiveminute fighting penalty.

Goderich’s Caden Beattie was served a 10-minute penalty for disrespectful, abusive and harassing behaviour, while teammate Connor

Hill was assessed two penalties: roughing (two minutes) and charging the goaltender (five minutes). Ethan Hill of Goderich also served a five-minute fighting penalty.

HANOVER 3 WINGHAM 2 The Hanover Barons outshot the Wingham Ironmen 24 to 19 in a 3-2 victory for the Barons in Wingham on Friday, Dec. 17.

Hanover started the game strong, earning the only two goals in the first period. Trent Verbeek found the back of the net on the power play, assisted by Ryan Goetz and Jonah White. Samson Walsom then scored, assisted by Verbeek and Goetz.

Wingham’s Kyle Stanbury earned the only goal of the second, his 22nd of the season, assisted by Dawson Fahrer.

In the third period, Alex McGillivray scored the Barons’ third and final goal, assisted by Drayton Howell.

Wingham’s Coleson Fischer managed a power play goal late in the period, assisted

by Trevor Klee, but fell short of tying the game.

Riley McCabe earned the win for Continued on page 16

Merry Christmas

Wishing you and your family peace & happiness throughout this Holiday Season and Best Wishes for a better year in 2022! from the council and staff of the

Municipality of Huron East Holiday Hours: Closed December 27th until January 3rd.

The first regular Council meetings in January are scheduled for January 4th and 18th, 2022.

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE 9.

BIA has mixed reaction to plan

By Denny Scott The Citizen

Lacing them up The Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre played host to a free community skate on Sunday, courtesy of Matt Snyder and The Cowboy Loft, that brought out many from the community to enjoy the village’s ice surface. (John Stephenson photo)

The Blyth Business Improvement Area (BIA) executive discussed the recently-received North Huron Parks Recreation and Culture Master Plan at length during the group’s recent meeting.

The plan, which was presented to North Huron Council earlier this month, proved divisive within the community with suggestions being both celebrated and panned by community members.

During the BIA’s Dec. 16 meeting, the executive informed attendees that it had a special meeting late last month to provide comments on the recommendations that it felt were relevant to the business community.

Those comments were sent to council and were part of the final report that council reviewed and officially received on Dec. 6.

The BIA stated that having a skateboard park would be great, as skateboarding is a source of damage at Blyth Memorial Hall.

“A fulsome, well-maintained skateboard park would give the skateboarders a proper park to use as a venue, rather than our main street,” the executive wrote.

The BIA executive also felt the results of the campground pilot project, which was initially marked to be discontinued by the consultants behind the report, were skewed as they didn’t start until midway through the camping season. The executive wrote it had several concerns about the way the campground was discussed in the report, including asking what the

NH wants info on EV chargers

By Denny Scott The Citizen Given a perceived lack of information, North Huron Township Council tasked staff with looking into an agreement to have electric vehicle (EV) charging stations placed in the community.

The agreement, which is with ChargerCrew, a private company, through Huron County, would see four pedestal-mounted dual connection Level 2 chargers placed at the Blyth and District Community Centre and the Town Hall parking lot in Wingham.

The situation frustrated Reeve Bernie Bailey because of the numerous changes he said had gone on at the county level with the project, including unanswered questions about upkeep and maintenance costs and how the funding could change.

Councillor Paul Heffer was also puzzled by the fact that one of the groups originally identified as a partner in the project had been removed due to conflict of interest.

He asked if council really wanted to get involved with a project where an issue like that went undiscovered for so long.

Bailey agreed, saying that he would have no problem with asking for further investigation into the issue before it went forward.

In her report to council, Director of Public Works and Facilities Jamie McCarthy explained that the project would cost approximately $260,000, with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) providing half of that. After splitting the costs with other groups, including ChargerCrew, McCarthy said the total cost would be $42,000 for North Huron, or $10,500 per unit.

Councillor Kevin Falconer then asked if the price included possible necessary upgrades to infrastructure, saying that there might not be enough power at the chosen locations to effectively run chargers. McCarthy said she wasn’t aware of whether the $42,000 would cover that kind of work.

Bailey then suggested receiving the report and directing staff to find more information, by way of having both the county and the private organization behind the project

definition of success was for the park in the report when the consultants said the grounds could be maintained “as long as they continue to be successful”. The BIA executive also supported moving the library to the Blyth and District Community Centre as a way of increasing the viability of the centre.

The BIA executive also pointed out holes in the plan, including the fact that the Goderich-to-Guelph (G2G) Rail Trail was excluded from a recommendation to prepare a trails master plan.

“The G2G trail has been excluded from this key direction,” the executive wrote. “The G2G runs through North Huron and has been growing exponentially in popularity and use throughout the pandemic. It is used by both local and tourist populations, is one of the busiest trails in the country, and an economic driver for the village of Blyth.

The BIA requests that the G2G

trail be added to this master plan.”

During the BIA meeting last week, Blyth Lions Club representative John Stewart elaborated on a letter he had penned on behalf of the club to North Huron regarding several suggestions for the community.

In the letter, Stewart said there were concerns about both the recommendation to try and replace the Lions Club’s wading pool with a splash pad and remove one of the community’s baseball diamonds.

During the meeting, he elaborated on those issues, saying that while the Lions Club’s own research showed people weren’t interested in a splash pad over the wading pool, it was also a difficult change to approach.

“It’s not as easy as it sounds,” he said, explaining the Lions Club had sought out information about such a change before, finding it would cost at least $90,000.

In the letter, Stewart said the club Continued on page 10

Serving the area since 1999

STEVEN NIXON Broker WILFRED MCINTEE & CO. LIMITED

Bus: 519-357-2222 Cell: 519-531-0252 Fax: 519-357-4482 Email: nixon@execulink.com Web: www.stevennixon.com 318 Josephine St., WINGHAM, ON N0G 2W0

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and all the best for the new year!

Thank you for your business this past year

attend a council meeting to discuss the issues. He said it would be worth pursuing.

Before the motion could be carried, however, Falconer pointed out that there are vehicle chargers at Blyth Cowbell Brewing Company and, while he couldn’t say if they cost money to use, he felt that people would be able to visit and recharge in Blyth while the issue was investigated.

Council proposed and approved the motion Bailey recommended.

May you and your loved ones rejoice in the miracle of this holy season and may this year hold the birth of new blessings and the promise of lasting peace.

Merry Christmas Best Wishes for a Safe and Happy New Year

BRIAN E. WIGHTMAN Chartered Professional Accountant Certified General Accountant • personal & corporate tax • accounting & bookkeeping • agricultural services Seaforth • 519-527-1331 brian@wightmancpa.ca

Howson & Howson Ltd. Flour Mill Blyth ~ 519-523-4241

PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Splash pad a difficult, unpopular ask: Stewart Continued from page 9 planned to go forward with a splash pad, despite the cost, until users of the pool said they wanted the club to retain the pool.

Stewart explained there wasn’t enough water capacity to the Lions Club park to make a splash pad operational, saying the size of service lines to the park would need to be increased. He also said the water used for a splash pad couldn’t go into the storm sewers, because it’s chlorinated, and couldn’t go in to the sanitary system as it would put it over capacity, meaning the Lions would have to collect the water from the splash pad and have it disposed of, which would be expensive.

BIA Chair David Sparling said he

was surprised there wasn’t enough water pressure for a splash pad.

Stewart also spoke to the removal of a baseball diamond, saying that while he and the club agreed there needed to be more sports facilities in the community, including pickleball/tennis courts, basketball courts and space for floor hockey, removing the baseball diamond wouldn’t be the club’s first choice.

He said that, once that move was made, the community would be dismissing the opportunity to host many baseball tournaments.

He said over the past year there had been tournaments held at the diamonds that brought a number of young people into the community, which was good for both the campground and local businesses.

Stewart said the Lions Club would be open to discussing using some of the land it has to the east of the wading pool and playground at Lions Park to house some of those facilities, but that it couldn’t fundraise for them alone, and would need to work with private interests and/or governments to get the above facilities constructed for the community.

Councillor Kevin Falconer said the report wasn’t exactly what North Huron Council expected to receive, saying he anticipated it would have been more of a scientific analysis of the facilities available and their life cycles, but did say the final report (a 203-page document presented on Dec. 6, in comparison to the slideshow made

available to the public earlier in the year) had good information in it that council could use in the future.

“The full report went into more detail [than the brief slideshow] and kind of made an attempt to explain some of the decision-making,” he said.

Falconer did say the report was somewhat generic and likely would look similar to reports for other communities, but said the final document would be similar to the municipality’s strategic plan in that it helps to guide discussion and the decision-making process.

He said many of the recommendations wouldn’t be pushed for any time soon, specifically stating there wasn’t a plan to remove a baseball diamond right away.

“The report was a framework to look at what we have and consider what the trends are going forward,” he said, before saying there was no real consideration given to the effect that some of the

recommended changes would have.

Stewart said he saw the value in the report, once again saying that more sports facilities are needed in the community.

Rev. JoAnn Todd, who represents the local churches on the BIA executive, asked what council planned to do with the plan, given that the reactions to the report were so diverse.

Falconer said the full report was much more in-depth than what the public first saw, and having the full scope of the report made it “a little easier to swallow”.

“The portion they came out with was a mission statement,” he said.

“There was much more information available in the full report.”

He said council had received the report and that the extra information had “mellowed out” all the shocking recommendations in the report.

“It is a good document,” he said. “[Some of those early reactions] were knee-jerk.”

Toll Free: 1-888-482-3400 To view all our listings visit www.rlpheartland.ca

Rick Lobb, Broker of Record/Owner Fred Lobb, Broker/Owner

Big little winners Earlier this year, the Royal Canadian Legion poster contest winners were recognized at North Woods Elementary School. The winners in the Primary division included, from left, Landry McDonald (first place in the colour category), West Bachert (second, colour, first black and white), Colton Boyer (second black and white) and Madeline Kuepfer (third, black and white). Missing was Wes Leis (third, black and white). (Photo submitted)

From everyone at Canadian Tire Goderich to all of you have a safe and merry holiday

Open 8 am - 5 pm December 24th **** Closed December 25th **** Open 8 am - 5 pm Boxing Day

Canadian Tire Goderich Canada’s Christmas Store R.R.#2 Highway 8, Goderich • Phone: 519-524-2121 Your local Canadian Tire in Huron County

Grain Elevators and Marketing, Seed, Crop Protection Products, Fertilizer, Custom Application Blyth Location 40605 Walton Road, Blyth

Walton Location 10 Patrick Street, Walton

519-523-9624 • 1-800-663-3653

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE 11.

519-523-4311

www.ruralvoice.ca

Agriculture

BLYTH 519-523-4244

www.hurontractor.com

Brussels Livestock report

Nearly 2,000 cattle on offer at weekly sale Total receipts for Brussels Livestock for the week ending Dec. 17 were 1,955 cattle and 1,171 lambs and goats.

On Tuesday, fed steers and heifers sold steady with quality considered.

Choice steers and heifers sold $157 to $162. Second-cut cattle sold $148 to $156. Aged and medium-fed steers and heifers sold $120 to $145.

Holstein steers and heifers sold $80 to $136. Bulls sold $77 to $121. Cows sold on a stronger market.

On Thursday, holstein veal sold barely steady. Beef veal sold steady with quality considered. Lambs and goats sold steady. Sheep sold higher.

On Friday, calves and yearlings sold very actively at fully steady prices.

Partridge Farms Inc. of Monkton consigned four head. One black steer averaged 1,520 lbs. and sold for a price of $162.

There were 400 cows on offer.

Beef sold $60 to $94; good holstein cows, $65 to $80; medium holstein cows, $50 to $64.

There were 140 head of veal on offer. Beef veal sold $165 to $190; good holsteins, $170 to $190; SL heavy holsteins, $155 to $174; heavy holsteins, $130 to $165; medium holsteins, $145 to $165.

Jacob A. Miller of Lucknow,

consigned three head. One holstein steer weighed 825 lbs. and sold for a price of $187.

Lambs under 50 lbs. sold $460 to $540; 50-64 lbs., $444 to $500; 6579 lbs., $390 to $445; 80-94 lbs., $319 to $365; 95-109 lbs., $315.50 to $341; 110 lbs. and over, $304.50 to $325.

Sheep sold $150 to $300.

Goats: billies sold $300 to $400; nannies $100 to $305; kids: meat sold $330 to $475; dairy, $245 to $330.

Leanair Farms of Brussels, consigned eight head. Two lambs averaged 51 lbs. and sold for an average price of $500.

BlythHill Farms of Blyth, consigned 28 head. Twelve lambs averaged 92 lbs. and sold for an average price of $341.

Dave Lawson of Clinton, consigned six head. One kid goat weighed 52 lbs. and sold for a price of $505.

Top quality stocker steers under 400 lbs. sold $207 to $260; 400 -499 lbs., $227 to $244; 500 – 599 lbs., $215 to $232; 600 – 699 lbs., $209.50 to $237; 700 - 799 lbs., $194 to $216; 800 - 899 lbs., $196 to $215; 900 - 999 lbs., $197 to $211; 1,000 lbs. and over, $195.75 $208.75.

Top quality stocker heifers 400 -

499 lbs. sold $182.50 to $232; 500 599 lbs., $184.50 to $194; 600 - 699 lbs., $174.75 to $193; 700 - 799 lbs., $188 - $200.75; 800 - 899 lbs., $183.50 to $197; 900 lbs. and over, $172.50 to $190.

Allan Aitchison of New Liskeard, consigned 78 head. Twenty charolais heifers averaged 792 lbs. and sold for an average price of $200.75.

Menoah Brubacher of Clifford, consigned 15 head. Five red steers averaged 995 lbs. and sold for an average price of $211.

Vernon Metzger of Paisley, consigned 33 head. Five black steers averaged 1.026 lbs. and sold for an average price of $208.75.

OFA urges a local perspective on gift-giving

By Tracey Arts, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture It’s been another challenging year as we continued to navigate the pandemic while simultaneously juggling our daily roles as entrepreneurs, farmers, partners, parents, siblings and friends. In true farmer fashion, our agricultural community has continued to showcase kindness, generosity and empathy as our industry battled extreme weather, disrupted revenue streams and volatile markets. Yet, we’ve persevered and we’re now ready to turn the page for a fresh new start in 2022.

As we enter the festive holiday season, it’s the opportune time to reflect on our individual contributions as farmers, the values

we share together as an industry and with our consumers, and the collective accomplishments of our sector. Ontario’s agri-food sector has many reasons to be proud. The food value chain has remained strong and reliable as producers, processors and distributors have remained committed to serving Ontarians the highest quality of food, fibre and fuel products for the province.

Throughout the pandemic, you have all embodied what it means to be a good neighbour as you continued to show up for loved ones, co-workers and peers in need.

Your work ethic and kindness was one of only a few guarantees in uncertain times.

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) encourages all

Bosman honoured PEOPLE AROUND BELGRAVE

By Linda Campbell Call 357-2188

Birthday greetings are extended to Irene Lamont, who celebrated on Dec. 21 and Aleah Lebold, who will be one on Dec. 23.

Arlyn Montgomery welcomed her daughter and family from Texas for a Christmas holiday.

Mackenzie Wightman played inspiring prelude and postlude music at the piano and accompanied all the hymns with Lila Procter and her guitar at Sunday’s Knox United Church service in Belgrave.

The flowers in the sanctuary were placed by the Bosman families in loving memory of their mother, Louise Bosman.

The guest speaker was Rev. Bill McAusland (retired United Church minister).

That Sunday, we journeyed with the shepherds as they left their flocks of sheep to journey to Bethlehem to witness the Christ Jesus as he lay in a manger in a

stable in Bethlehem. Ken Procter handed out candles which we lit singing, “Silent Night”. On Christmas Eve at home we will relight the candle, though apart this Christmas Eve. May the light and the love of God remind you that we are together in the joining of our hearts to welcome the One who comes – Emmanuel. God is always with us.

There is no service at Knox United Church, Belgrave on Sunday, Dec. 26.

Ontarians to continue supporting local farming and food communities by sourcing local products throughout the holidays.

Supporting local can make a world of a difference to your neighbour’s small business and comes around full circle by keeping the money in your community. Sourcing local from small businesses gives them the gift of extra support to purchase gifts for their loved ones and have a memorable holiday gathering.

Celebrate the achievements of Ontario’s agri-food sector by filling your holiday plates with fresh, local, affordable produce and meats. If possible, purchase directly from your local grower and producer or look for the Foodland Ontario logo when shopping at the grocery store. Source baked goods from the local bakery, spirits or beverages from distillers, breweries and wineries, and fresh-tasting meats from the local butcher. All of these contributors to the food supply chain will be grateful for the community support.

If decorating for the holidays, make the conscious decision to purchase your evergreen arrangements, poinsettias and flowers from a local greenhouse or florist. Source your hostess gifts

from local businesses such as the town cheese, honey or preserve shop. Visit your local tree farmer when looking for a live Christmas tree to decorate with ornaments and lights.

When checking items off your Christmas gift list, look to locallyowned stores for unique and personal gifts for your loved ones.

Local woodworkers and artisans are eager to make custom handmade pieces. Or give the gift of local food with a gift certificate to your favourite restaurant or farm gate store.

The Ontario Made website can be a great resource for gift giving as well and allows you to browse over 750,000 products proudly made in our province. The diverse list of items includes clothing, food, beverage, home, garden, technology and more.

I believe in supporting local all the time. Supporting local throughout the holidays and beyond raises the profile of local food, keeps money in the local economy and garners support for every link of Ontario’s agri-food supply chain.

Often, it’s easy to forget the connection between the food on the table and the many hands that worked to raise, tend and harvest it.

Yo Y our voice, e your community comm ommunity ty, your neews.

BRUSSELS LIVESTOCK Division of Gamble & Rogers Ltd.

UPCOMING SALES TUESDAYS 10:00 a.m.

Fed Cattle, Bulls & Cows

THURSDAYS

9:00 a.m. Drop Calves 10:00 a.m.Veal 11:30 a.m. Lambs, Goats & Sheep

FRIDAYS

10:00 a.m. Stockers Visit our webpage at: www.brusselslivestock.ca email us at: info@brusselslivestock.ca

Call us 519-887-6461

From the management & staff of

BRUSSELS LIVESTOCK

News M Media Canada is a passion ssion ssionate ad dvocate for the news industry. We support our mem mber m publications in their pursuit of quality jo ournalism nalism nalism.

We believe that when society has facts they can trust, better decisions will be made.

NEWS FROM BELGRAVE

The OFA is committed to further fostering the support local movement through two consumer outreach initiatives: “Home Grown” and “Source Local”. Both initiatives highlight the fact that agriculture is prevalent in Continued on page 14

www.brusselslivestock.ca email us at: info@brusselslivestock.ca

519-887-6461 newsmediacanada.ca

PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Classified Advertisements – RATES – 20 words or less only $7.00 + HST. Additional words 20¢ each + HST. 50¢ will be deducted if ad is paid in advance

DEADLINE 2 p.m. Monday in Brussels 4 p.m. Monday in Blyth Phone 519-523-4792 or 519-887-9114 e-mail: info@northhuron.on.ca

Articles for sale GERBERS FIREWOOD SERVING you for over 10 years. Your number one source of quality slabwood and bodywood. Delivery available. No Sunday calls. 519-656-2057, 519441-2085.

01-50p -------------------------------------------REPRINTS OF PHOTOS taken by Citizen photographers are available to purchase. All are in colour. 4x6 – $5.00, 5x7 – $6.00, 8x10 – $10.00. Phone to order 519523-4792 or 519-887-9114. tfn -------------------------------------------THE CITIZEN IS AVAILABLE TO purchase at these locations – Auburn Co-op, Auburn Esso, Belgrave Variety, Blyth Variety, Blyth Food Market, Blyth Ultramar, Brussels Foodland, Brussels Variety, Clinton Convenience, Clinton Foodland, Dean’s Valu-Mart in Wingham, Wingham Mini Mart, Seaforth Foodland, GT Mini Mart in Seaforth, Fincher’s in Goderich, Goderich Victoria St. Shell and The Citizen Blyth.

Help wanted Northside United Church, Seaforth is currently looking for an

Organist/Pianist Interested parties please contact Bryan Vincent at 519-527-2204 or by email bryan@teamvincent.com

Card of thanks Card of thanks Personal

Wanted

DOLMAGE. The family of Elizabeth (Betty) Dolmage wish to express our gratitude for all the love, kindness, thoughtfulness and support shown during our time of sorrow. To Dayna Deans and staff of the McBurney Funeral Home, we thank you for such compassionate care with the funeral arrangements. A special thank you

CASH CROP LAND WANTED TO rent or share crop. Contact Peter Rastorfer, 519-276-9405. Email: rastorferfarms @gmail.com 50-6p

to Dr. Stephen VanderKlippe and staff of the Wingham and District Hospital and to the physicians and staff of the Stratford General Hospital for your kind and professional care. Thank you to friends and neighbours for the food, telephone calls, flowers, cards and visits. – sincerely, Earl and family.

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Help wanted Help wanted Help wanted Help wanted Full-Time Farm Workers

Full-Time Farm Workers

8-month position

24-month position

Brussels Livestock, Div. of Gamble & Rogers Limited has two positions available for full-time farm workers for an 8-month period.

Brussels Livestock, Div. of Gamble & Rogers Limited has two positions available for full-time farm workers for a 24-month period.

Job Start Date: on or about February 1, 2022 End Date: on or about September 30, 2022 Rate of Pay: $15/hour Hours: 40-80 Hours / Week. (Working hours are variable due to position being dependent upon weather conditions) Number of Vacancies: 2 Terms of Employment: 8 months, full-time Job Location: Brussels, Ontario

Job Start Date: on or about February 1, 2022 End Date: on or about January 31, 2024 Rate of Pay: $15/hour Hours: 40-80 Hours / Week. (Working hours are variable due to position being dependent upon weather conditions) Number of Vacancies: 2 Terms of Employment: 24 months, full-time Job Location: Brussels, Ontario

Job • • • •

Job • • • •

Work Conditions and Physical Capabilities: • Inside and outdoors • Fast-paced environment • Work under pressure • Tight deadlines • Repetitive tasks • Handling heavy loads and physically demanding • Attention to detail • Combination of sitting, walking, or standing for extended periods of time • Work any shift: days or evenings; including weekends and holidays

Work Conditions and Physical Capabilities: • Inside and outdoors • Fast-paced environment • Work under pressure • Tight deadlines • Repetitive tasks • Handling heavy loads and physically demanding • Attention to detail • Combination of sitting, walking, or standing for extended periods of time • Work any shift: days or evenings; including weekends and holidays

Personal Suitability: Flexible, organized, team player, effective interpersonal skills, works well with others, but also should be able to be independent and take initiative.

Personal Suitability: Flexible, organized, team player, effective interpersonal skills, works well with others, but also should be able to be independent and take initiative.

Skills Required: • Fluent English speaker • Tending to livestock • Planting, hoeing/weeding, grading/sorting, harvesting crops • Property/farm maintenance • Ability to safely operate farm equipment

Skills Required: • Fluent English speaker • Tending to livestock • Planting, hoeing/weeding, grading/sorting, harvesting crops • Property/farm maintenance • Ability to safely operate farm equipment

Education: None required.

Experience: Experience is an asset; but willing to train.

Work Eligibility: Only applicants legally eligible to work in Canada will be considered.

Education: None required.

Experience: Experience is an asset; but willing to train.

Work Eligibility: Only applicants legally eligible to work in Canada will be considered.

Equal opportunity Employer: Brussels Livestock is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.

Equal opportunity Employer: Brussels Livestock is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.

Applications can be emailed to: Cindy Ferraro: cindyf@brusselslivestock.ca P.O. Box 59, Brussels, ON N0G 1H0 Canada

Applications can be emailed to: Cindy Ferraro: cindyf@brusselslivestock.ca P.O. Box 59, Brussels, ON N0G 1H0 Canada

Description: Feed and tend livestock Plant, fertilize, cultivate, spray, irrigate and harvest crops Operate and maintain farm machinery and equipment Follow food safety and security and animal bio-security procedures • Detect disease and health problems in crops, livestock and poultry • Set and monitor water lines, air flow and temperature in barns, and pens • Maintain or assist in the maintenance of facilities and farm infrastructure including cleaning stables, barns, barnyards and pens

Description: Feed and tend livestock Plant, fertilize, cultivate, spray, irrigate and harvest crops Operate and maintain farm machinery and equipment Follow food safety and security and animal bio-security procedures • Detect disease and health problems in crops, livestock and poultry • Set and monitor water lines, air flow and temperature in barns, and pens • Maintain or assist in the maintenance of facilities and farm infrastructure including cleaning stables, barns, barnyards and pens

All word ads in The Citizen classifieds are put on our webpage at

www.huroncitizen.ca

THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE 13.

McDonald looks forward to better times in ’22 PEOPLE AROUND WALTON

By Jo-Ann McDonald Call 887-6570

Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year!

As we are just a few days shy of celebrating Christmas, I hope everyone stays healthy and can spend time with family. Although smaller gatherings are encouraged due to new COVID-19 concerns, we shall get through Christmas and New Year’s.

Count your blessings and look forward to better times ahead once we conquer the COVID-19 crisis.

Hopefully you and your family have your shots and have signed up for the booster shots as soon as you can, to help protect yourself from this new variant. We are so lucky to be able to get the shots right here in Brussels at the pharmacy. Get yours today and do your part in keeping everyone safer.

Happiness and sadness to report for this past week. We offer our condolences to the Smith family on the passing of Chris Smith. He will be missed by Shelley and their children Lexi, DeLayna, Hudson and Bennett. He was the loving son of Fred and Teuni Smith. Our sympathies to all.

Congratulations to Evan and Tori

Ducharme on the birth of their first child, a son, Wilson Greg. He will be spoiled badly by first-time grandparents Greg and Nanci Ducharme. He missed being born on his Grandma Nanci’s birthday by just a couple of days.

Congratulations to all!

Our get-well wishes and healquickly wishes go to Jean Davidson, who has suffered a break in her arm.

Take care and get better soon.

Happy news has come from New Brunswick from Joanne (Knight) and Weldon Black. Their son Andrew is engaged and he and his fiancée Jessica are planning a wedding. The Knights here, Brad and Steve and wives, are excited about the prospect of travelling to the coast to enjoy a Maritime wedding.

We hope Dona Knight is enjoying her new living space. She is at Highland Apartments and is settling in nicely.

Congratulations to Tyler and Jess Deitner on the birth of their third child. They have welcomed a son, Lucas. He will be loved by his siblings Lydia and Alex.

Grandparents Kevin and Alicia are excited about the new arrival.

The past week has been another week of up-and-down weather.

Gale force winds, temperatures ranging from just under 0˚C to a plus of 15˚C. Snowboots one day and running shoes the next. Snow covered, slippery roads, muddy roads and then almost dust flying roads. One thing I can say for sure, is that my vehicle is covered in dirt.

I have been filling in and doing mail and the dirt is covering the van. Wash it one day and it is filthy by the next. It will likely soon be snow covered instead, so maybe I prefer the dirt.

Celebrating birthdays this past week were Anne Clark, Conner Shortreed, Kevin Gillis, Rob McGillvary, Peter Strong, David Jacklin, Brooklyn Beuerman, Leanne Nolan, Pam Nolan, Adam Shortreed, Stephen Bernard, Stephanie Rijkhoff Eedy, Abby Strome, Meg Fritz, Geoff Dalton, Jeff Lewington, Glenn Mader, David Pethick, Natalie Wakabayashi, Jean Bewley, Connor Jarosz, Monique Baan, John W. Brown, Pearl McCallum and Clayton Fraser.

NEWS FROM WALTON

Happy Holidays!

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519-523-9449 404 Queen St., Blyth, Ontario

Giving back The Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association held its annual meeting late last month and made two charitable donations on behalf of the membership. Above, President Judy Sloan, left, and Second Vice-President Laura McDonald hoist a $500 cheque meant for the Ronald McDonald House. (Photo submitted)

Complete Hair Care Services

Obituaries

FEMMIGJE “FEMMY” (née Thalen) VAN AMERSFOORT Mrs. Femmigje “Femmy” (née Thalen) van Amersfoort went home to glory on Sunday, Dec. 19 at Braemar Nursing Home, Wingham.

She was in her 97th year.

Femmy was the beloved mother of Helen Hummel (Boven), Herb and Joanne van Amersfoort, Hillie van Amersfoort and Stephanie and Frank Zoer. Femmy was the proud Opoe of Michael (Shirley Ann) Boven, Laurie (Richard) Wilts, Casey (Melissa) Boven, Kelly (Brette) Boven, April (Josh) Tuninga, Jeremy (Mariet) van Amersfoort, Steve (Denise) van Amersfoort, Kerissa (Nate) Beach, Greg (Kim) Blok, Telly and Krystle Zoer, the step-opoe of Kelly (Dan) Kiss, Rick (Stacy) Hummel and the great-opoe of 32 greatgrandchildren.

Femmy was the sister of Harm (Sharon) Thalen and sister-in-law of Tinie and Joanne Thalen.

She was predeceased by her husband Casey (1992), son-in-law Albert Boven (1989), son-in-law Henry Hummel (2009), granddaughter Pauline (2020), one sister, several brothers and in-laws. She will be missed by many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends in Canada and Holland.

Femmy was a devoted wife and her family always came first. She was dedicated to her faith and very involved in her church community.

She loved to read, knit, crochet and sew, and used her skills as a seamstress throughout her life. She loved to sing, especially in church and was a choir member for many years. Femmy was a sweet lady with a kind smile, and she will be missed by many.

Visitation and the funeral service took place Wednesday, Dec. 22 at the Blyth Christian Reformed Church. Pastor Gary van Leeuwen officiated.

A video of the service can be viewed on the Blyth Christian Reformed Church YouTube channel online at https://www.youtube.com/ channel/UC0DTNoKAr8Y83bpNQ vd4xow Interment will take place at Blyth Union Cemetery in the spring. In lieu of flowers and as expression of sympathy, donations to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, the

It's a Shear Thing Specializing in A-G, Moroccan Oil and Kaaral products

819 Turnberry St. S., Brussels ON N0G 1H0

519-887-9025 Rhonda McArter

Heart and Stroke Foundation or the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated.

Cards of sympathy may be sent to Box 327, Blyth, ON N0M 1H0.

Condolences may be left at riversidefuneralhome.ca

Citizen-To-Citizen

Merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year

Let us help you turn that junk into $$

“SWAP SHOP” ad “One person’s junk is another’s treasure”

• Free ad up to 25 words, person to person only (no businesses), items valued at $1,000 or less. Your ad will run three times unless it sells faster!

• The Citizen reserves the right to limit the number of items or ads per person.

Call 519-523-4792 or email: info@northhuron.on.ca

BLYTH VETERINARY SERVICES Lee Siertsema, DVM Grace Hildebrand, DVM and Staff

FOR SALE - 5000W electric heater, plugs into 220 amp., $50; used electric motors, single phase, $25 to $50; half-inch steel cable with hooks 60 feet plus, $50. 519526-1012.

51-3 ------------------------------------------FOR SALE - three-month-old camel-coloured leatherette sofa bed.

New was $1,800, asking $500. 519357-0624.

50-3 ------------------------------------------LOST - grey box with drill bits, etc.

Lost east of Walton on Walton Road.

If found, call 519-887-6760. 50-3 ------------------------------------------FREE - queen-size NIKKEN magnetic mattress, 196 magnets, very clean and in good condition, available for pick up in Blyth. 519242-4224.

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FOR SALE - kittens, tabby with white markings, using litter box, 10 weeks old, also one sylvester female kitten, friendly, 3 months old, reasonable, Harriston, mornings, 519-338-2688.

49-3 ------------------------------------------FOR SALE - 4 Avalon tires, 21560R15, $250. Phone 519-357-2009.

49-3 ------------------------------------------FOR SALE - Dyson vacuum cleaner, ball type, $400; Sirius XM home and car radio kit, $40. 519525-1543.

49-3 -------------------------------------------

PAGE 14. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

It’s in the bank Glimpses of the Past with Karen Webster Many are familiar with the Bank of Montreal, Toronto Dominion Bank and the Bank of Nova Scotia, but who has heard of the Bank of Hamilton or other local banks with names like Standard, Consolidated, Exchange, Metropolitan and Sovereign?

The earliest mention of banking in this part of the province comes from William Tiger Dunlop in his Statistical Sketches of Upper Canada for the Benefit of Emigrants. This booklet was penned in 1832 to ease the transition from the old country to backwoods life. He advised travelers against carrying sums of money for the journey to Canada but, rather, to deposit their funds with T. Wilson and Company in London, England, agent for the Bank of Upper Canada.

The Bank of Upper Canada was a controversial entity, as it was run mainly by members of the government. Reformers such as William Lyon Mackenzie questioned the monopoly the bank held, as well as whether the bank

had sufficient funds to cover all the bank notes it issued. The monopoly ended in 1841 and, by 1866, the Bank of Upper Canada closed, causing shareholders to lose their investments.

Canada’s first bank was the Bank of Montreal, which was established in 1817. By 1891, there were 39 chartered banks in Canada.

Chartered denotes that these institutions were sanctioned by the provinces of Ontario before 1867 and then by the federal government after Confederation.

The Bank of Hamilton opened its doors in Blyth in 1899, 27 years after it came into existence.

Another bank in Blyth was the Metropolitan, which later amalgamated with the Bank of Nova Scotia. At the turn of the 20th century, Brussels was serviced by the Standard (later the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce), the Metropolitan and Sovereign Banks.

In 1895, the Brussels Post made note of the Brussels Post Office Savings Bank, which took deposits of $1 to $1,000 and allowed interest

of 5.25 per cent.

Walton hosted the Sovereign Bank from 1906 until 1918.

Other area banks were the Sterling Bank in Dungannon and in Clinton. Clinton also had a Molson’s Bank. In Auburn, the Sterling Bank operated as a subsidiary of the same bank in Goderich for a while. In 1925, the Standard and Sterling Banks merged. By 1928, the Bank of Commerce took over and, in 1961, the Bank of Commerce merged with the Imperial Bank of Canada to become the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). This bank in Auburn had living quarters on the upper floor and, in 1980, this fact was the undoing of a trio of masked thieves who mistakenly tried to enter the apartment thinking they were accessing the back door of the bank. The CIBC closed its doors in Auburn in 1985.

Early banks issued their own “bank notes” with a promise that metallic money and likely gold was held by the bank to guarantee the worth of these bank notes. In those

unregulated times, that premise was not always the case.

Trouble often occurred in area banks. The Consolidated Bank suspended its activities in 1879 when local merchants became so careful that they looked upon all bank notes with suspicion. The Huron Expositor reported in 1879 that “the bills of the Exchange Bank have already been refused – before long possibly only gold will pass as currency”.

In addition to the chartered banks located in the area, there were also several private banks such as those run by Lucas, Tanner and Company (est. 1888) in Blyth, J.M. Roberts in Dungannon, McTaggert Bros. and J.P. Tindall in Clinton, Thos.

Holmes and Sons and Robert McIndoo in Wingham and Gilles and Smith in Brussels. In 1893, the latter bank promised “general banking, business transactions, farmers’ notes, discounted drafts bought and sold on all points in Canada, the U.S.A. and Great Britain”.

Also, the private bank of James McMurchie operated in Blyth. In 1908, this business was the target of thieves who used explosive charges to break into the safe. In subsequent months a vault was added to the business. Deposits in private banks were not secured. In January of 1895, the Clinton News-Record

reported “owing to a wild rumour, a run was made on the Lucas, Tanner and Company bank by depositors… .we understand that sufficient securities are in possession of the bank to meet all liabilities” Apparently this wasn’t the case, as in April of the same year, the same paper further reported that “the expert who has been examining the books of the defunct bank of Lucas, Tanner and Co. has returned to Toronto”.

A run on a bank means that depositors, in fear of losing their money, rush to the bank to get their money out before all assets are gone.

Perhaps some remnants of longforgotten area banks remain in the hands of local residents. If so, an investigation of the values of bank notes may be in order. A recent survey of paper currency offerings on eBay included a Bank of Hamilton uncirculated $100 bill valued at $2,500 and a 1919 Standard Bank of Canada $5 bill valued at over $1,200.

Despite all the local financial activity throughout the years, in 2021 the only communities still retaining banks are Wingham, Clinton, Seaforth and Brussels.

Information gleaned from Morris Township, Past to Present by Jeanne Kirkby and the files of the Blyth Repository of History.

OFA passes on season’s greetings Continued from page 37 everyone’s life, whether you reside in an urban area or rural community. The key message is that we need to protect our natural resources to ensure we can produce food for future generations and that we want to better connect with Ontarians over shared values related to local food.

As we approach the start of a new calendar year, I challenge everyone reading this to make sourcing local a part of their New Year’s resolution. And while you’re enjoying all the great products local

have to offer, we encourage you to post a message or video on social media telling us why and how you source local for a chance to win one of four Ontario local food prize packs. Be sure to use the hashtag #SourceLocal and #MyReason and tag @FarmFoodCareON and @OntarioFarms in your post.

On behalf of the OFA, we would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season full of quality time with loved ones, and life-long memories over a shared all-Ontario holiday feast.

eason’s Greetings With best wishes from our entire team.

Susan, Doug, Kim and Sue

Out in the barn The United Churches of Blyth and Brussels hosted a special outdoor church service “in the barn” at the Brussels Conservation Area on Sunday to get members of the congregation ready for Christmas, complete with a manger scene and the animals to fill it. Student Minister Alex Jebson, left, was at the helm. (John Stephenson photo)

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE 15.

Hullett careful through pandemic

Knock knock Genevieve Garrity recently spent some recess time at Hullett Central Public School checking who was home in one of the school’s bird houses. (Denny Scott photo)

Profit mapping detailed

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen The Huron Soil and Crop Improvement Association is working on profit mapping at the Huronview Demonstration Farm and seeing intriguing results.

Al Willits, the association’s president, and Ross Wilson of the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority presented their results to Huron County Council at a meeting late last month, detailing mapping they have been working with at the farm that compares revenue to expenses like seeding, harvesting and marketing. This approach, Willits said, will help farmers facilitate management decisions and know more about their crops on an acre-by-acre basis.

At the farm, they planted corn in 2016, which realized a total profit of just over $300. The results are all dependent on the year, of course, with its variations in weather, precipitation and many other factors, but the mapping presented to council showed the results for each acre of the property, while also tabulating an average profit or loss per acre. In 2016, the average profit per acre was just under $32.

In 2017, with a soybean crop planted, the farm saw a profit of

Merry Christmas

$1,053.21, at an average profit of just under $110 per acre.

The 2018 crop of wheat, however, resulted in a total loss of just under $400, for an average loss of $41.10 per acre.

After skipping 2019, the 2020 soybean crop represented a very profitable year for the farm, with a total profit of just under $5,000, an average profit per acre of $517.51.

Willits said the mapping showed plenty of variability within the field, depending on a variety of factors. Furthermore, the study expanded to include an adjacent field, so the crops could be compared between the two fields within the same season, showing results for contoured drainage, conventional drainage and an undrained field.

The presentation concluded with a discussion on precision farming and a decision for farmers as to whether the practice is right for them and their land. The study, which could be applied to private fields, could show, over time, if some areas of the field are consistently losing money. If that’s the case, the pair said, perhaps those areas could be better suited to different uses, such as the planting of trees, hay or headland.

By the time this edition of The Citizen arrives in your mailbox, Christmas will be just two days away. And it looks to be pretty much a green one this year.

However, I am sure Santa will still be able to get those gifts delivered.

There are just two verses of “The 12 Days of Christmas” left to ponder on. Eleven pipers piping stand for the 11 faithful disciples.

When Judas betrayed Jesus, the other 11 disciples carried Christ’s message to the world. Their message directly relates to the 12 drummers drumming. There are 12 points of doctrine or belief in “The Apostles’ Creed”.

Twelvetide, or the 12 days of Christmas, begins on Dec. 25 and ends on Jan. 5.

Sandra Cable led the morning worship at Londesborough United Church on Dec. 19. She also offered those who gathered the Sacrament of Holy Communion.

Her reflection on this Christmas Sunday, also known as Family Sunday, was titled “Love of a Different Kind”. Scripture passages were Micah 5:2-5 and Luke 1:3955.

Brother and sister, Josh and Morgan Yantzi, lit the candle of love in the Advent candle.

Accompanied by Barb Bosman, Sue Barnett shared her musical talents singing two lovely Christmas numbers, “How Quietly” and “A Special Gift”.

School classes for 2021 ended on Friday, Dec. 17. Whether pupils at Hullett Central return on Jan. 3 is still to be announced, pending the government’s decision around the spread of COVID-19, namely the Omicron variant, in the next couple of weeks.

Due to their consistent attention to the protocols suggested for the pandemic, Hullett has been able to avoid any cases within their walls.

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in the individual classrooms. Won’t it be great when we can all be present again for these types of things? I particularly missed attending Hullett’s Remembrance Day service.

Merry Christmas all. We’ll get together again in the new year.

NEWS FROM LONDESBORO

Season’s Greetings Wishing everyone a joyous holiday season.

May the beauty of the season bring warmth to your heart and home.

G. L. HUBBARD LIMITED

As was the case in all schools across Ontario, all Hullett pupils took home with them, along with any personal or necessary items in the event of needing to go back to virtual learning in January, a rapid response COVID-19 antigen test kit. Parents are required to test their children for the virus the morning of Jan. 3. If the test is negative, the children would be able to go back to classes.

Spirit activities were held during the last week of classes from Dec. 13-17. Each day, pupils were allowed to wear to classes a different type of holiday clothing.

Monday was sweater day, Tuesday was hat or head gear day, while Wednesday featured socks. For dress-up day, the children were to dress up in the costume of a holiday character. I wonder how many Grinches there were scowling in the halls that day? Holiday pajamas were in order for movie day on Friday.

One of the things the classes watched on Friday was their inschool virtual Christmas concert.

Each class contributed to this presentation that could be watched

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PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Hanover edges out Ironmen 3-2 in PJHL action

Trying A strong defensive effort kept Hanover one goal ahead of the Wingham Ironmen over the weekend. The Ironmen next host Mitchell on Dec. 29. (John Stephenson photo)

Google Maps issue a barrier

By Denny Scott The Citizen Blyth not registering on Google Maps continues to be a problem for local residents and businesses according to Blyth Business Improvement Area (BIA) Chair David Sparling.

During the BIA’s meeting on Dec. 16, he said the issue was discussed

by the BIA executive late last month and identified as a pressing and longstanding issue.

He said that, while the fact that Blyth is identified as either Walton or Auburn has been a minor inconvenience in the past, it’s starting to have more dire reprecusions, pointing to someone who couldn’t set up a bank account recently because the bank couldn’t

confirm the applicant’s Blyth address.

He said North Huron and Huron County have filed reports on the issue with Google, and that he didn’t know how to proceed.

“It’s very frustrating when you go to set up online business program applications,” he said.

Sparling said he had been told that Zurich has a similar situation, where that community just doesn’t exist on the popular website.

“Huron County is on this and trying to do their part and North Huron is likewise engaged,” he said. “This is a significant concern to our members.”

He said the concerns were further illustrated by the recent funding made available through the Digital Main Street program, which helped local businesses refresh their online presence. He said the program is great, but not being able to set a digital location is a stumbling block.

Continued from page 8 the Barons in net, stopping 17 of 19 shots, while Wingham’s Devon Carson stopped 21 of 24.

The Barons served 12 penalty minutes on six infractions, while the Ironmen served 25 on seven.

Wingham’s Stanbury was issued the first penalty of the match, a twominute boarding infraction.

Teammate Austin McKeachnie then served two minutes for goalie interference.

Hanover’s first penalty went to Tayden Hannivan, a two-minute call for unsportsmanlike conduct.

During the same play, Jonah Burley of Wingham was called for roughing after the whistle and served two minutes.

The second period saw David Kozak of Wingham called for cross checking (two minutes). Hanover’s Hannivan then served a two-minute hooking penalty, as did his teammate Dean Sealey.

The third period saw six penalties issued across both rosters, with five being spread over two incidents.

Just past the 15-minutes mark, Matt Tolton of Wingham was

assessed a five-minute crosschecking penalty, which was served

by Ethan Scrimgeour.

Less than one minute later, Hanover’s Walson was called for holding and assessed a two-minute penalty. During that stoppage, Wingham’s Burley was assessed a 10-minute penalty for disrespectful, abusive and harassing behaviour.

At 17:28, less than 10 seconds before Wingham’s second and final goal, Hanover’s Kyle Detweiler was assessed a two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Teammate Dean Sealey, during the same play, was assessed a twominute roughing penalty, as was Wingham’s Stanbury.

The Ironmen will next take to the ice on Dec. 29, welcoming the Mitchell Hawks to Wingham. The last time the two teams met, the Hawks edged out the Ironmen by a score of 1-0 in Wingham. The puck is set to drop at 7:30 p.m.

Follow coverage of the Ironmen online at huroncitizen.ca

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235 Turnberry St., BRUSSELS 519-887-9661 3878 Wellington St., MITCHELL 519-348-8485 20 King St., CLINTON 519-482-3445 Have a safe and happy holiday

Giving back The Brussels Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion has begun handing out the proceeds from its regular Catch the Ace draw and the Bluevale Hall was one of the lucky recipients. Brian Greenaway of the Hall Board recently received the donation from JoAnn McDonald of the Brussels Legion. (Photo submitted)

Merry Christmas Creating your beautiful spaces has been our pleasure, we are excited to see what 2022 will bring!

Thank you to our customers & best wishes for a wonderful year!

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TENPAS DECOR CARPET ONE You can’t pass on TenPas where the welcome mat is always out for you!

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE 17.

Neighbours raise concerns about proposed building sent a joint letter to council with her, said he felt the move wasn’t well researched.

Others complained that when they purchased their homes, they didn’t do so to look at the proposed structure.

While some would welcome “appropriate” development at the site, others felt it should be turned into parkland, since that’s how it has been used since the trailer park was removed from there.

Council didn’t comment on the issues, but moved ahead with the recommended motion which would see staff attempt to resolve the issues before council’s next meeting on Jan. 17.

Development A five-storey apartment building proposed to be built on the former Wingham Trailer Park grounds has resulted in neighbours filing complaints with North Huron

By Denny Scott The Citizen

A proposed development that would see a 73-unit, five-storey apartment building will be the focus of work between its developers, North Huron staff and concerned neighbours and citizens.

During North Huron Township Council’s Monday night meeting, council received a report on the apartment building, proposed for the former Wingham Trailer Park, and directed staff to try and address a litany of issues that neighbours had with the development before it could proceed.

Huron County Planner Kelly Vader outlined the building for council, explaining the structure would be just over 19,000 square feet and built on a mixed grade with four storeys visible from the east and five from the west. At its peak, the structure would be 61 feet tall, she said, and the site would include 90 parking spaces, buffering spaces between neighbours, an amenity space, including picnic tables and on-site snow storage, and a relocation and continuation of the Wingham Community Trail.

Vader walked council through the work that had been done, including studies that had already been completed such as archeological studies, environmental site assessments and environmental impact studies, as well as work that had been done, including remediating contaminated soil from the site.

She said there were no concerns with the project, save MorrisTurnberry Public Works Department staff asking about

traffic impacts, which she said wasn’t an issue as the size of the proposed structure wouldn’t increase traffic enough to cause an impact it when compared to its previous use.

Vader listed the concerns that were discussed by neighbours of the development, including potential ecological damage to the site and surrounding areas, loss of trees and impact on wildlife, loss of recreation opportunities, the distance from the site to the schools, concerns the development won’t provide affordable housing, questions about servicing, inquiries about damage from salt and sand on the site, the loss of trees, loss of recreation opportunities and the possible increase in demand for services such as hospitals and physicians.

She said some of the issues were already handled, including the ecological concerns, which were reviewed by the Maitland Valley Conservation Area and the county biologist, resulting in recommendations for the build and servicing, which was investigated early on. Vader said the loss of recreation was handled with the trail being relocated. She also said other concerns, including site lighting and the specifics of snow removal, would be addressed with site plan control measures.

The applicants, Jonathan Eelman, a local business owner, and Brock Hodgins, whose family operates Hodgins Rona in Wingham, said they had put together the best site plan to help address residential property shortfalls in the area, meet requirements like the walking path and make the

about nearly ever facet of it, from the impact on natural environment space around it to the appearance of the building. (Allan Avis Architects Inc. image) project financially feasible.

The neighbours, however, were concerned with nearly every aspect of the build, with some claiming it would negatively impact property value, traffic, safety in the community and a lack of compatibility with surrounding properties. Most speakers also referred to how this development would have a negative impact on their quality of life.

Karen Dekker, who lives on John Street, said she wasn’t against development, but was against the specific apartment building, and also criticized council for having a discussion about it so close to Christmas. She said she felt the scheduling of the meeting, plus council only notifying people in a certain area near the property, wasn’t transparent.

Dan Noble, who spoke on behalf of a property owner, said that construction trucks can provide danger, citing his own experience in the industry. He also said that renters don’t make for good neighbours.

“People who rent don’t care,” he said. “They are all-around crazier people.”

Michael Woodman, who shares an address with Dekker and also

Have an opinion on a controversial issue?

Share it with the public by sending a letter to the editor to The Citizen.

Send your letters to info@northhuron.on.ca

Merry Christmas from

AGRICULTURAL 519-524-0253 RESIDENTIAL

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PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Council to let province decide on electronic meetings

By Denny Scott The Citizen

Despite a request from staff to have council, committee and board meetings moved online to make advertising for such events simpler, North Huron Township Council is leaving it up to the province to determine whether said events should remain in-person.

During council’s Monday night meeting, staff reported that the municipality’s emergency operations control group recommended that council weigh in on the issue, given increasing COVID-19 case numbers.

Reeve Bernie Bailey said it made sense as “all hell is breaking loose” and that council should decide whether it wants to

be ahead or behind the eight ball.”

Clerk Carson Lamb, who provided the report on the issue to council, said he had received a number of requests from council committees to return to digital meetings, but said electronic meetings are ultimately at the discretion of council unless the province overrules them.

Councillor Kevin Falconer said that committees he is on, including the Blyth Business Improvement Area (BIA), have strongly requested the change take place as case numbers have risen.

“I would put forward a motion to allow any of our committees of council, if they wish, to go to video conferencing,” he said.

Lamb said that wasn’t possible under the municipality’s existing

procedural bylaw, which states council has to dictate which meetings are or aren’t hosted virtually, going on to recommend council direct all council, committee and board meetings to be held electronically as of Jan. 1.

Councillor Anita van Hittersum asked if that motion would be for all meetings or just committee meetings, and Lamb said it would be for all meetings to provide consistency for ratepayers.

Bailey said he didn’t want people to complain about missing meetings due to confusion about where it’s being hosted.

Lamb went on to say there is a significant number of notices that need to be sent out for council’s January and February meetings, so having a decision made about

United Way addressing housing United Way Perth-Huron (UWPH) is working to bring about their long-term vision of addressing significant local housing and community service infrastructure needs by incubating a planned Community Renewal Company (CRC).

“This is a large project that will have a lasting impact on PerthHuron,” said UWPH Executive Director Ryan Erb. “After more than a year collaborating with existing agencies, government and other stakeholders, and with support from the Pillar Nonprofit Network, we are pleased to take our first steps. We’re very excited to share our vision with the community and start working on building the CRC so we can address issues such as access to affordable housing and social services across the region.”

The CRC’s initial focus will be on developing and operating affordable rental supply, supportive housing options and innovation in social service access and delivery, including the creation of community hubs to address the challenges some face finding social services where they live. The aim is to have a positive impact on pressing needs such as housing shortages, social isolation and challenges facing vulnerable populations such as mental health, addiction and poverty. The CRC will also play a critical role in the

community development ecosystem, working to support and build relationships between local non-profit service providers and their supporters and advocates within the public, private and philanthropic sectors. For more information, visit perthhuron.unitedway.ca.

“We want to fill a void in the development of high need projects in our communities,” said Erb. “Of course there are challenges involved in this kind of undertaking, but UWPH, through

the CRC, is willing to do the work because it reinforces our strong belief as an organization that everyone is worth investing in.

Imagine communities where everyone lives in an affordable, adequate, reliable and safe home.

Communities where everyone has access to the social services they need. That’s a big goal, but we feel there is an appetite locally for this kind of endeavour and we want to do everything possible to build a brighter future for our entire region.”

where those meetings would be held would be beneficial. He said it would be prudent to move forward with virtual meetings to avoid confusion since the province could enforce them anyway.

Deputy-Reeve Trevor Seip said he wasn’t against digital meetings, and recognized that case counts were going the wrong way, but said he was frustrated that the communication from the federal and provincial governments had proven wrong.

“The communication that has been given by our province, our federal government, is, get a vaccine and we’ll be out of this soon,” he said. “Where are we at?

Ontario is at 90 per cent vaccination and we’re going the opposite way [towards] lockdowns.”

He said he knows that public health and staff health needs to be protected, but said committee, board and council meetings are spread out enough that they should still be allowed to happen.

He also had concerns about people not being able to participate in decision-making discussions because they don’t understand the electronic meeting systems.

Finally, he said he isn’t against going backwards in returning to digital meetings but would prefer the Ontario government make that choice so the people of North Huron can complain to that level of government instead of their municipal one.

The motion to switch to digital meetings was defeated with only Bailey voting for it.

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Thanks to all of our friends and clients for making this year an outstanding year for us.

We owe our success to your loyal support, and we wish you and yours a very happy holiday!

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Pushing Despite plenty of action in front of Mount Forest’s net, the Blyth Brussels U18 Local League Crusaders weren’t able to beat the Rams, falling to them 6-2 over the weekend. (John Stephenson photo)

A Time for Remembering Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

At Christmastime, may the company of loved ones present and the fond memories of those who have passed surround you with happiness and fill your heart with peace.

We wish you all the very best this holiday season.

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE 19.

From the Minister’s Study

Christ was born for you; He also died for you

By Jason Hovius Brussels Community Bible Chapel These days, it is hard to escape the namesake of Christmas. Do you know who this Jesus Christ is? You owe it to yourself to find out.

The names and titles given to Jesus are a good place to start in giving us an understanding of who He is. In the New Testament, Jesus is most commonly referred to as the Lord Jesus Christ or some variation of those three words. Jesus is Lord.

In the high school in which I grew up, some of the sports teams went by the name of “Lords”. Now, we weren’t actually Lords, so we didn’t always live up to the title, but the idea was there that we aspired to rule over the opposing team. Jesus is the Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16), not as an overbearing, power-hungry ruler, but as a meek and gentle and loving master.

Christ means “anointed one”. The Hebrew equivalent is the word “Messiah”. The prophet Daniel refers to the Messiah in Daniel 9:2526, which gives an accurate timeline of the coming of “the Anointed One”, despite being written hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth. It is possible that the Magi from the East were students of the prophecies of Daniel, and were eagerly anticipating the coming of this Anointed One as they watched the stars for signs.

When someone is anointed, this probably means that they have been given a task, and that the person who anoints them considers them to be up to the task. In the same way, Jesus as the Christ demonstrates His worth as a perfect representative to man on God’s behalf.

The name of Jesus has meaning as well. Nowadays, at least in mainstream Canadian culture, people choose names for their kids based mainly on whether the name sounds nice to them. Because of complicated synapses in our brains, we have linked sounds and names to feelings about what someone with a certain name should be like, but this is usually as deep as it gets.

However, in some cultures, names are important for their meanings. In the Bible, most people had names that meant something significant in Greek or Hebrew. The name of Jesus is no exception. Not being a scholar of ancient languages, these meanings are sometimes lost on me.

Juan, Jan and John are the same name, but in different languages.

Similarly, Jesus is the Greek form of the name Joshua, which means “Jehovah Saves”. This name given

Evangelical Missionary Church MERRY CHRISTMAS from your friends at Huron Chapel!

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to the baby Jesus is explained in Matthew 1:21. “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Jesus’ name and his titles may be meaningless words and phrases we say, or even curse words, but I ask of you to please be cognizant of the meanings of words that come out of your mouth. They are important. If you’re anything like me, you can sing or speak words, maybe dozens of times, without thinking about them. Many times I sing Christmas carols without recognizing the import of the words I am singing.

However, if you consider the words of some familiar Christmas carols, you will be reminded of who Jesus is and why he came to earth. You probably know the following lyrics in your head, but have you grasped their significance? Read these phrases. Your eyes are here anyway.

“Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled… Mild he lays his glory by, born that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth. Born to give them second birth.”

“Remember Christ our Saviour was born on Christmas Day, to save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray.”

“So bring him incense, gold and myrrh. Come, peasant, king, to own him. The King of kings salvation brings; let loving hearts enthrone him.”

Jesus is the saviour of sinners, no matter if they are peasants or kings.

He is the mediator between God and man. He is the King of kings and the king of loving hearts. He was born so that mankind could be born again.

Christianity, and religion in general, may be ridiculed by the earthly small and great alike, but the fact remains that every person has sin and is in need of forgiveness. It is a grave mistake for people to consider themselves to be good enough on their own. How good is good enough? The Bible clearly states that every person falls short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23) and that we are liars if we claim to be without sin (1 John 1:8).

Most religions require people to

offer some sort of sacrifice in exchange for appeasement of their deity. Christianity is unique from all other religions in one crucial way: our sins can be forgiven, not by our efforts to lead a better life, but because of the good news of Jesus taking our punishment upon Himself. This good news story starts with the birth of Jesus the Saviour, which we celebrate in the Christmas season. This is why so many Christmas carols are chock full of

joy (except for Charlie Brown’s “Christmas Time is Here”, which has a super depressing tune).

Whether you are the Prime Minister (I don’t think he reads this newspaper) or you feel like you are an unappreciated nobody, Christ was born for you! He also died for you!

It has been said that He was “born to die”. Every single person dies, but hopefully that is not their purpose and passion in life. But it was for Jesus.

The Regional Ministry of Hope Churches are now open for in-person worship.

Weekly service live-streamed at 10:30 a.m. on our facebook page or on youtube @St. Paul’s-Trinity Anglican Church Wingham.

Rev. JoAnn Todd, Rector 519-357-7781 email: revjoann@hurontel.on.ca The­Regional­Ministry­of­ Hope

Trinity

St. John’s

BLYTH 9:00 AM

BRUSSELS 12 NOON

St. Paul’s Trinity

WINGHAM 10:30 AM

COME WORSHIP WITH US!

MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS

Brussels Mennonite Fellowship We’re Back!!!

Worshipping Jesus Together All Are Welcome

Sadly, Melville’s in-person Christmas Eve service has been cancelled.

Services are also cancelled for Boxing Day and January 2nd.

Search Rev. Charmila or St. Andrew’s and Melville Sermon on Youtube for virtual services on Christmas Eve and every Sunday.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Brussels Soup and More 2 is cancelled until further notice.

519-357-5273

Sundays @ 10 am ­­ Face masks & social distancing in effect 250 Princess St., Brussels • 519­887­6388 • Pastor Ken Gazley

BRUSSELS

Blyth United Church Friday, December 24, 2021

United Church

HOPE PEACE JOY LOVE

We wish you the Blessings of Christmas Christmas Eve Worship via Zoom at 7:30 pm Sunday, December 26 Pre-recorded service from Brussels Ministerial on YouTube Sunday, January 2, 2022 Communion Service via Zoom at 10:30 am Note: Zoom links will be emailed to congregants.

If you do not receive them email Alex or call the office 519-887-6259

Contact Alex at minister.brusselsandblythuc@gmail.com Website: brusselsandblythuc.ca P.O. Box 359, Brussels ~ 519-887-6259

THE CATHOLIC PARISHES OF NORTH HURON AND NORTH PERTH

OUR CHURCHES HAVE RE-OPENED. WELCOME BACK.

Brussels: St. Ambrose Saturday ~ 6:00 p.m.

17 Flora Street

Christmas Eve service will be on Zoom at 7:30 pm

Sunday, December 26, 2021 On-line pre-recorded service available

Sunday, January 2, 2022 will be on Zoom at 10:30 am Contact the minister for Zoom link "Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together.” (Isaiah 40:5) Contact Alex at: minister.brusselsandblythuc@gmail.com

Facebook: Blyth and Brussels United Churches blythunited@tcc.on.ca ~ 519-523-4224

Join us for in-person Christmas services Friday, December 24th Christmas Eve 6:00 pm service

Saturday, December 25th Christmas 10:00 am service We welcome you to join us for the Christmas Eve or Christmas Day service as they will be the same

Sunday, December 26th 10:00 am service ~ no evening service

Friday, December 31st New Year’s Eve Service 7:30 pm

Wingham: Sacred Heart Sunday ~ 9:00 a.m.

220 Carling Terrace Listowel: St. Joseph’s Sunday ~ 11:00 a.m.

1025 Wallace Avenue N. Facebook: Search for St. Joseph/Sacred Heart/St. Ambrose Live Sunday Mass, Sundays at 10:00 a.m.

Sunday, January 2nd 10:00 am service ~ no evening service Social distancing and masks required Services are live-streamed and can be found by searching “Blyth Christian Reformed Church”

BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH Minister: Pastor Gary van Leeuwen Hwy. 4, Blyth www.blythcrc.ca 519-523-4743

PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Porter’s Hill, Sunshine homes to be connected As part of the Ontario government’s plan to build Ontario and its commitment to connect every community to broadband internet by 2025, construction is underway to connect more than 510 homes, farms and businesses in Porter’s Hill, Sunshine, Thames Road, Lumley and Hurondale to reliable high-speed internet services starting in February, 2023.

This $5 million initiative to build three new infrastructure networks in Huron County will help ensure that farms and businesses in these communities will have the ability to attract new customers, grow their business, create new jobs and stay competitive in an increasingly digital marketplace. Families in these communities will also be able to have confidence in knowing that connectivity will be available, when they need it, whether its to access services, renew their driver’s licence, shop online, do homework or work from home.

The expanded fibre-optic service is supported by the Governments of Canada and Ontario, each committing $1.2 million. The contracts to expand broadband services were awarded by Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) Inc, a not-forprofit corporation initiated by local municipalities to address connectivity in unserved and underserved areas of southwestern Ontario.

“Our government is committed to bringing high-speed internet to Canadian households and businesses, regardless of where they live or operate,” said Arielle Kayabaga, Member of Parliament for London West on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities.

“Through this partnership with Ontario, we are connecting hundreds more Canadian households, farms, and

businesses to communities and customers from around the globe.”

“As both the Minister responsible for rural affairs and the local MPP, I know firsthand how important high-speed internet access is for families and businesses in our community and throughout rural Ontario,” said Lisa Thompson, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and MPP for HuronBruce. “They need these services to do their work - whether it’s schoolwork or running a business.

That’s why I’m proud that our government is getting shovels in the ground to build the critical infrastructure needed to build Ontario and support communities in Huron County.”

More than $255 million has been invested by the Governments of Canada and Ontario and the private sector, to bring high-speed internet to more than 58,000 households and businesses in Southwestern Ontario through SWIFT.

“SWIFT is proud to partner with the federal and provincial governments as we continue to expand broadband service throughout Southwestern Ontario,” said Gary McNamara, SWIFT Board Chair. “With the important infrastructure investments made in

Huron County and with construction now underway within the municipalities of Central Huron, Morris-Turnberry and South Huron, many more residents and communities will soon have access to long-term sustainable fibre-optic connectivity.”

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE 21.

Tribunal appeal lodged against Morris-Turnberry

By Denny Scott The Citizen

Morris-Turnberry has found itself a participant in an Ontario Land Tribunal appeal lodged by Jordan Errington.

Chief Administrative Officer Trevor Hallam reported the appeal during council’s Dec. 7 meeting.

Errington, a resident of the municipality, is appealing a decision made on July 6 in reference to the Willem Bakker

properties. The decision, a zoning bylaw amendment, was to allow for the rezoning of a parcel of land on Mary Street in Lower Town from Development (D) to VR1 (Village Residential) and NE2 (Natural Environment).

The application was a condition of a consent application to create three residential lots, each to house a single-detached dwelling, while the NE2 zoning would be naturalized as a buffer to adjacent wetland. Currently, the land is vacant.

Originally, council deferred the amendment to allow the concerns of neighbours, including Errington’s, to be investigated, as well as to mail updated materials to said neighbours. Council ruled on the issue on Sept. 21 after changes were made to the amendment to increase the natural environment sections of the area. Council gave first and second reading to the bylaw on

Sept. 21, and gave final approval on Oct. 29 after Huron County Council gave provisional consent to a related document on Oct. 6.

On Nov. 4, Morris-Turnberry was informed that Errington had filed an appeal of council’s decision based on a lack of “legible site plans” and destruction of natural habitat and protected wetlands.

Staff put together the necessary documents, Hallam said, which was a time-consuming process for the municipality, and barrister Greg Stewart of Donnelly Murphy Lawyers will represent MorrisTurnberry. No information was available regarding the process as of the Dec. 7 meeting.

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By walking, participants will better understand the experience of being on the streets during a cold Canadian winter while raising funds to aid UWPH’s local work in support of a planned Northern Huron Connection Centre. The centre will be a welcoming place, offering basic needs such as light meals, a shower, washroom facilities and laundry, along with additional support through partnerships with numerous agencies.

This year’s inaugural Wingham walk includes a COVID-safe, outdoor event on Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022 and a virtual option to walk any time, any distance during the month of February. The in-person walk begins with registration at 3:30 p.m. and features a two- or five-kilometre option. Starting

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PAGE 22. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

M-T won’t host shared position

By Denny Scott The Citizen Morris-Turnberry Council went against the recommendation of staff, deciding the municipality would share animal control services with six municipalities, but not be the hiring municipality or provide space for whoever fills the position.

During council’s Dec. 7 meeting, Chief Administrative Officer Trevor Hallam suggested that Morris-Turnberry could hire an animal control service for six partner municipalities including Morris-Turnberry, and, through the use of a communal “hot seat” in the municipality’s office, offer a parttime office location for the officer.

The communal desk is used by bylaw enforcement officers and Huron County planners at different times, meaning that, by sharing similar arrangements with other municipalities, Morris-Turnberry could have the animal control officers in the municipal office several days a week.

Hallam said he had informally reached out to other representatives and discussed the plan, and there was talk about it being possible.

He then said it wouldn’t be a huge change, as the late Bob Trick, the municipality’s last animal control officer, had been employed rather than contracted.

Hallam said he spoke to other senior staff and the consensus was Morris-Turnberry had the capacity to operate an animal control service for its partner municipalities, as long as the officer wasn’t in the municipal building every day.

“We would have to invoice out,” he said, referring to sending bills to the partner municipalities. “That’s not a huge burden, but it is something extra.”

Hallam said the concept is appealing, but the nature of the shared services agreement is unknown, which is why Hallam brought the issue to council before time was spent on an agreement.

He did acknowledge there could be problems, as the service could be prohibitively expensive if municipalities dropped out of the agreement. Councillor Kevin Freibuger said it sounded like the most reasonable way forward, and said he was in favour of pursuing the issue, however, other council members weren’t as supportive.

Councillor Jim Nelemans spoke out against it due to previous shared service systems not working out.

“I think we better watch what we get ourselves into,” he said. “We had shared service agreements before, and they were a bit of a disaster. If we take the animal control officer, and people back out, we’re left paying the wages.”

He also felt the area involved, which includes Goderich, North Huron, Central Huron, Huron East, Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh and Morris-Turnberry, is too large for one person to cover.

Hallam said that comes back to the level of service being considered, and making sure the public knows that response times may not be as quick as they had been in years past.

Nelemans then suggested that staff investigate how Howick fills its animal control service needs, and suggested Morris-Turnberry could share with Howick, as well as possibly North Huron.

“That way, we just have our immediate area covered,” he said.

Deputy-Mayor Sharen Zinn agreed, adding that Trick once told her it was tough to get to all the

areas he covered and, by the time he time officer could be found with a arrived, the animals in question smaller area to cover. Hallam said were often hard to locate. Hallam that would depend on the level of said his initial inquiries with service, as expecting on-call Howick saw the municipality show evenings and weekends could be no interest, but that may change complicated with part-time hours.

“I would expect them to want to with a smaller area to cover.

Zinn then said she wasn’t in Continued on page 23 favour of MorrisTurnberry supplying office and administrative support, saying the municipality just hired administrative staff to help with existing responsibilities.

“I don’t think we need to spend our office [hours] and staff to help another person,” she said.

Hallam said the program makes sense on paper and meets everyone’s needs, because a full-time, permanent staff position would be more attractive than six individual contracts managed independently.

“This was the way we could attract someone more readily,” Hallam said, adding it would be easier to find a qualified officer to fill a full-time position.

Nelemans said that animal control can be one of the worst positions to fill, noting the municipality has had significant challenges with that in the past.

“We were really lucky with Bob Liz Allan of the Maitland Valley Trick,” he said. “I Camera Club found herself with realize some people memories of Charlie Brown and his had issues, but we diminutive Christmas tree when she really were blessed.” found this one. (Photo courtesy of Liz Allan That said, Nelemans of the Maitland Valley Camera Club) still felt that a part-

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE 23.

North Huron renews field agreement for 2022 The Citizen North Huron Township Council has renewed a one-year contract

with the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) to maintain the Turnberry flood plain property, including Galbraith Park.

The site, which is in Morris-

Turnberry and owned by the MVCA, includes the main soccer field for Wingham Minor Soccer, according to Director of Recreation and Community Services Vicky

Quite a crew The Seaforth and District All Girls Marching Band, aside some colourful characters, were part of the Blyth Santa Claus parade earlier this month. (John Stephenson photo)

Council seeks info on service Continued from page 22 be compensated for their time,” he said. “Reducing it to a businesshours-only service would make that more manageable, but that’s a decision about the level of service.”

Zinn also suggested taking the issue to Huron County since, with six of the county’s nine municipalities looking together, it was nearly a county-wide issue.

However, Hallam said that discussion had happened and the county was not in favour of it. “I can’t blame them,” Hallam said.

“It’s not something that’s really in their sphere.”

Mayor Jamie Heffer said council should give Hallam specific direction, saying that he felt council members had doubts with the suggested plan.

After more debate, council directed staff to gather more

information, while making it clear that Morris-Turnberry was

not interested in hiring for or housing the service.

Donation The Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association recently held its annual meeting and approved two charitable donations, one of which went to the United Way Perth-Huron. Threshers President Judy Sloan, left, and First Vice-President Cole McDonald did the honours. (Photo submitted)

Luttenberger. She said, during council’s Dec. 6 meeting, that staff suggested renewing the contract for one year.

Later in the meeting, Reeve Bernie Bailey explained that the one-year term was due to changes that may occur in the municipality with regards to Hutton Heights that could make the space redundant.

Councillor Kevin Falconer was initially against the renewal, saying it didn’t make sense for North Huron to rent the facility and then lease it to soccer groups, especially when there are soccer fields available in North Huron.

Bailey then provided the explanation noted above, saying he felt council should stay with the lease for another year.

Chief Administrative Officer Dwayne Evans said staff felt that way as well, saying that it would give time for council and staff to consider how soccer would fit into the future with the help of the Parks, Recreation and Culture Master Plan, which council approved earlier in the evening.

Bailey did say the cost was prohibitive for a long-term agreement, explaining that staff had informed him it costs between $30,000 and $45,000 for the maintenance of the park alone.

Palmer said the revelations of the master plan, including that 22 per

cent of respondents cite affordability as a reason not to participate in sports, made it more important to keep the site active and maintained, saying that soccer is one of, if not the, least expensive team sport generally available. He said he would prefer an extended lease or agreement, adding that any other site would still likely cost significant amounts of money to maintain.

Deputy-Reeve Trevor Seip was in favour of a one-year agreement because it would allow the next group of council members, due to be elected by this time next year, a chance to make a decision on the issue instead of locking them into an agreement. He said the current session of council found itself dealing with several issues like that and he didn’t want to repeat that type of planning.

Council received the report during the Dec. 6 meeting and officially renewed the lease for one year during its Dec. 20 meeting.

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By Denny Scott

2021

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PAGE 24. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

PAGE A1. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Home for the Holidays Stories and Traditions, Past and Present

A special supplement to

The Citizen December 23, 2021

PAGE A2. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Baking, handmade gifts part of Hallahan’s holidays that Klaver and Hallahan are the longest-serving Queen and Princess in Huron County history.

The young women have graciously extended their reigns, soon into a third year, until the match can be held again in the traditional sense and their successors can be crowned, live and in-person.

Hallahan says she has loved being part of community Santa Claus parades. She says they really get her into the holiday spirit and that it’s always fun to see your friends and neighbours from the float and for everyone to be so excited to see them.

As for Christmas meals, Hallahan

Long may she reign

Merry Christmas, be safe, be kind, and all the best for 2022!

Grace Hallahan didn’t know, when she was crowned Princess at the 2019 Huron County Plowing Match, that her reign would last at least three years thanks to COVID-19. She recently told The Citizen what Christmas is like for her and her family and it includes a lot of hands-on activities and gifts. (Photo submitted)

By Shawn Loughlin

are cause for celebration and tradition at her home.

The Citizen In an interview with The Citizen, Grace Hallahan of the Westfield Hallahan said that when the area, the Huron County Plowing holidays roll around, she looks Match Princess for the third forward to spending a lot of time consecutive year, says the holidays with friends and family, simple as that. She also tends to be pretty handy and crafty around the holidays, utilizing her various skills to fill bellies and treat those closest to her with thoughtful, handmade gifts that are truly one of a kind.

Hallahan is a gifted baker, having learned at the foot of both her mother Arletta and grandmother Marian. Now, the 16-year-old is comfortable in the kitchen on her own, holiday In 2019, Grace Hallahan was crowned making Princess at the Huron County Plowing creations for those in her family.

Match. (File photo) She also knits,

crochets and makes other forms of crafts as gifts when Christmas comes back around every year.

In recent years, being the Huron County Plowing Match Princess has introduced something new to Hallahan’s holiday traditions, as she and Queen of the Furrow Maranda Klaver have been a staple at Santa Claus parades throughout the county and beyond.

The two young women were crowned for their positions in 2019.

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the hosting of the Huron County Plowing Match has been interrupted, with cancellations and then closed-to-the-public matches that did not include new Queen and Princess competitions, meaning

says she and her family usually make their way to their grandparents’, Frank and Marian Hallahan of Blyth, home for the big family Christmas dinner. Aside from that, things are usually pretty quiet at home for the Hallahans, but with plenty of food and good cheer always around.

She says the focus of the holiday at her house isn’t all about presents, but one sticks out recently that she’s still very happy about and that’s her very first pair of cowboy boots from her parents. Hallahan says she loves them and is still wearing them today, so that makes for a pretty good Christmas gift.

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE A3.

Christmas in 2007

Nichol family kept Christmas traditional in 2007 After being told that the animals out in the barn would talk at midnight on Christmas, he would make his way out to the barn, alone, every Christmas and wait to strike up conversation with the animals.

This never happened, but it led him to a tradition that he holds dear to his heart with his wife and sons, a tradition that he says brings him closer to the true meaning of the holiday.

Every Christmas, Nichol collects his Bible, bundles up his family and takes a walk out to the barn. Setting up hay to sit on, out in the cold with the animals, Nichol reads the Christmas story to his family. He says it gives him a true understanding of the nature of the Christmas story, out in a barn, in the cold on Christmas night.

In addition to keeping the religious aspect of Christmas intact, one that seems to fade steadily every year, he says it keeps him grounded and helps him to channel his ancestors. Nichol says he has always been interested in

Away in a manger In 2007, The Citizen spoke with local economic development lead Paul Nichol of Brussels about his holiday traditions, one of which was connecting with his ancestors with a midnight barn reading from the Bible. (File photo) Well-known economic development and business development guru Paul Nichol of Brussels shared the story of his family’s Christmas traditions with Shawn Loughlin of The Citizen in 2007.

“It used to be a pretty normal day.

We’d get up, do the chores, come in and have breakfast and then we’d get to open a present, but then we’d have to go out and do more chores,” said Paul Nichol, economic development manager with the Huron Business Development Corporation.

“It wasn’t really until I married that it became a big deal.” Nichol’s wife, Kathy, grew up in a household where Christmas was a big event and family members would come from as far as Orillia and Quebec to be with the rest of their family to celebrate. Nichol confessed that celebrating Christmas in a big way quickly became contagious.

Now, Nichol says, he has

experienced the holidays with 18 people in a house and waking up with just his wife and two sons, Seth and Ethan. He says that both are good, but that there’s just something old-fashioned about a big, family Christmas.

Much of what Nichol calls tradition in his house as far as Christmas is concerned is like a journey through the past, starting with the very house he calls home.

Nichol lives in a beautiful old home just north of Brussels and he prides himself on preserving as

much of its history as he can. Each room greets like a themed museum room, but slightly adapted for functionality. The kitchen features a wood stove, while living rooms and offices house antique violins and guitars, desks and leather chairs.

Nichol says preserving the historic integrity of his home is important to him and that he wishes others would do it more often. This brings him to one of his favourite Christmas traditions stemming from an old legend he once heard when he was a child.

pioneers and how they did things, hence his old-fashioned home, and doing this, he says is celebrating the way that those before him might have.

Taking it one step further this year, but met with mixed reactions, Nichol hopes to start a new tradition.

This year, he hopes to temporarily move the family out to a small oneroom cabin just beside his house to sleep Christmas night. Again, channeling his ancestors, he says it feels like the way families before him would have done it, not to mention bringing a sense of family that can only come by spending such a solemn occasion together in such tight quarters.

While Nichol and one of his sons are on-board (before they’ve tried it, Kathy notes) his other son and his wife are unsure if they want this new tradition to be a staple of their holidays.

With both traditions firmly scheduled for Christmas Eve Continued on page A5

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PAGE A4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Christmas in 2009

Family feast the centrepiece of Cardiff Christmas

Preparation Audrey Cardiff, right, the 1996 Citizen of the Year for Brussels and its surrounding communities, told thenCitizen Editor Bonnie Gropp in 2009 that, to her, Christmas meant a large holiday feast with her family all home in Huron County. Granddaughter Andrea, left, was home to give her grandmother a hand. (File photo)

In 2009, 1996 Citizen of the Year Audrey Cardiff shared her holiday traditions with The Citizen and then-Editor Bonnie Gropp.

In a rich and fulfilling life, highlighted by a long and blessed marriage that included the births of six children, Audrey Cardiff (1996 Citizen of the Year for Brussels and area) has built a wealth of Christmas memories.

It is difficult to believe that this energetic, youthful woman has lived the decades she has. That they have passed quickly is as certain for her, however, as the fact that time hasn’t slowed the years in any way.

“As Jack and I are in our twilight years now, time seems to fly. It seems but a blink of an eye and another Christmas is here.”

Looking back, Cardiff said she feels blessed by the many good and happy Christmases they have had with family and friends. Her earliest memories, however, conjure different Christmases where many of the luxuries of today didn’t exist. “We didn’t have hydro or many of the things we think are necessities now. We were poor, but there were lots of people around us.”

The circle seldom changed with aunts, uncles and cousins gathering each year to celebrate together this time of family and blessings.

“We cooked a goose that we raised on the farm and always had Christmas pudding. We would get an orange and some nuts and homemade candy in our stockings.”

Cardiff said the day was always full of excitement, especially when the gathering was held at her aunt’s who lived 10 miles away. “We travelled by sleigh pulled by a team

of horses and we were covered up with blankets.We would have dinner at noon and supper at night and the trip home always sticks in my mind. I remember lying on the sleigh and looking up at a sky that had a million stars that seemed to surround us like a canopy of diamonds.”

Such beautiful memories of course continued to be created after marrying Jack, then eventually with their children. It was then, with her mother crippled by arthritis, that Cardiff began hosting the family Christmas at their farmhouse.

“It was different then. Santa brought our children one gift each and everyone was so happy because there were cookies and candy, lots of food, and of course, always Christmas pudding.”

For many years the honour of making the Christmas pudding and rich sauce went to Cardiff’s aunt.

“But when she wasn’t able to I learned to make it.”

Now with their children grown and married, with families of their own, the Cardiffs feel blessed to

have their family gather at the farmhouse, something that has continued for over 50 years. “It is so interesting to have extended family, with different cultures joining us and making memories.

Extra food is brought by family. We have singing, skating and lots of food — turkey, the trimmings, dessert and always Christmas pudding.”

An excellent cook and baker, whose culinary talents are known throughout the community, Cardiff loves spending her time in the kitchen for the Christmas gathering, content to watch while the family visits. “I find looking back over the years my happiest memories are seeing and hearing our children and grandchildren enjoying each other’s company.

There is such a feeling of gratitude for all the love and health by God’s grace we’ve been given over the years.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to celebrate yet another Christmas with friendship, fun, lot of food, and always Christmas pudding.”

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE A5.

Christmas in 2012

Midnight mass central to Anderson holiday in 2012 Catholic Secondary School in Clinton.

Anderson says she remembers going to midnight mass for “forever” and that it’s just been something that her family has always done.

Going to church in Blyth when she was a child is a memory that has always stuck out, Anderson says, because it showed her a real sense of community and it was fun for her.

“I always liked going to church,” she said. “Back then you had to be to the church really early or you didn’t get a seat.

“On Christmas Eve there were as many non-Catholics there as there were Catholics, everybody just came out. It was a real community event.”

When she was younger, Anderson remembers that her family would have “all kinds of company” over on Christmas Eve, including one special guest.

“Santa always came by for a visit and asked us what we wanted for Christmas and asked if we had been good boys and girls during the year,” Anderson said. “Then we’d go to midnight mass and by the time we got back Santa had visited our house and gifts were there waiting for us.”

One particular Christmas from her youth stands out, says Anderson, when her older brothers gave her a live pony for Christmas.

“They weren’t shy, they brought [the pony] right into the house,” she said. “We fed it sugar out of an ashtray.”

Time to celebrate Central Huron Councillor Marg Anderson and her husband Jim, a well-known local business owner, shared their holiday traditions with The Citizen for a special feature story in 2012. They are seen above with some of the younger members of their family in a picture taken over 10 years ago. (File photo) In 2012, Central Huron Councillor Marg Anderson shared the story of her long-time family Christmas traditions with Citizen Editor Shawn Loughlin.

Central Huron Councillor Marg Anderson is usually in a very giving mood during the holidays, but she’ll have to adjust slightly this year.

“I’ve always shopped for all my kids at Christmas and this is the first year that I’ll only be buying for two people,” Anderson said.

“That’s still going to be hard for me.”

Anderson had always bought gifts for everyone in her family, but as the family has expanded, the family has devised a system where people wouldn’t go broke buying gifts for the entire family.

One thing she is looking forward to, however, is going to be shopping

for her grandchildren. “I love shopping for my grandchildren, maybe a little too much,” Anderson said.

This year things will be different though.

Until now her grandchildren have all been girls.

This is the first year that she has a grandson to buy for.

“It’ll be nice looking for little trucks and tractors,” she said.

Anderson says she’s simply looking forward to spending time with her grandchildren over the holidays, as she does every year.

“I love playing with them and the toys they got for Christmas,” she said. “When they get their gifts they’re so happy. They figure that they must have been good over the course of the year.”

While she will have to change her gift-buying tendencies this year, one tradition that has been in her

family for decades will be upheld once again.

Anderson and her family has always attended midnight mass.

She travels to Blyth to pick her mother up and they go to midnight mass together, usually bringing Anderson’s daughter Amanda along as well.

Anderson and her mother used to attend midnight mass in Blyth (at the now-closed St. Michael’s Catholic Church, which held its final service on Christmas Eve, 2004). Anderson, who was raised in Blyth, then began attending midnight mass at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Clinton, which is also now closed.

The group now makes its way to Seaforth and St. James Parish for midnight mass, although there was one year that mass was held at St. Anne’s

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PAGE A6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Christmas in 2013

Christmas in every room at the McDonald home This is in stark contrast to how things were when McDonald was a child. She and her siblings were up at the crack of dawn, with six of them living in a two-bedroom apartment.

“To say it was noisy is the appropriate answer,” she says. In addition to the large number of people in a small space, Christmas was always marked with visits from cousins and extended family, so there were always lots of people around during the holidays, she says.

Christmas was always a time to play games in the McDonald family

as well. With huge get-togethers come the playing of board games and card games. One of McDonald’s brothers, in fact, would always buy the family a new game every Christmas. It then became everyone’s job to learn that game so it could be played later that night.

Recently, however, the holidays have changed for McDonald again, with her two grandchildren both being born in December last year.

This year, she says, should be fun, with her grandchildren old enough to have fun around the holidays just after their first birthdays.

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Long-time volunteer and Citizen correspondent JoAnn McDonald takes over the woodburning stove with a Santa Claus display at Christmas and that’s only the beginning.

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(File photo)

In 2013, prolific volunteer, Citizen of the Year Award winner and Citizen correspondent JoAnn McDonald shared her Christmas stories with Citizen Editor Shawn Loughlin.

Around the holidays, the Christmas spirit changes from room to room at the home of Walton’s JoAnn McDonald.

McDonald is the president of the Brussels Legion and was recently honoured with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for outstanding service to her community. Around Christmas, however, McDonald’s focus is decorating her house.

While she admits that she only got the decorating bug about 15 years ago, she remains fully dedicated to making her home as Christmas-themed as it can be in December.

It all started, McDonald says in an interview with The Citizen, when her children were old enough to help out and whether it was McDonald’s daughters who passed decorating on to her, or vice versa, it quickly became part of the fabric of the McDonald family.

“My parents weren’t big on decorating,” McDonald says. “My grandmother was though. She always put lights around every window of the house.”

McDonald said she tried to emulate her grandmother’s style when she began decorating her own home. As she and her husband Rick were the proud owners of an old farmhouse, McDonald said she had no qualms with putting small nails and tacks into the window frames.

When they renovated the home, however, and replaced the window frames, McDonald says she wasn’t as keen to start putting holes into the window frames, so that tradition stopped as a means of keeping her house in great shape.

In recent years McDonald has

been busy with two jobs and her numerous volunteer activities in Brussels and the surrounding communities, but she has still found time to make her house look great in the winter.

If given the chance, however, Rick would change a few things, as the family’s living room is a little cooler in December as their woodburning stove is forced to give way to a handful of stuffed Santa Clauses.

McDonald decorates for Christmas by room, she says, never mixing up her decorations. The kitchen, McDonald says, is her snowman room, the office is the reindeer room, the living room is the Santa room and if you need to use the facilities in McDonald’s home, don’t be surprised when you see a number of penguins.

McDonald’s family has always respected the traditional aspects of Christmas, always attending the Christmas Eve service at Duff’s United Church every year. When the McDonalds returned home from church, the children were allowed to open one gift, she says, as a reward for being good in church.

When asked if her kids ever were not good in church, and therefore weren’t permitted to open a gift on Christmas Eve, McDonald said with a laugh that her children “knew better” than to misbehave in church.

As her children got older, McDonald says, they began to have people over after church on Christmas Eve, friends and neighbours celebrating the holidays.

The holidays eventually got to the point where they were an overwhelming time for the McDonalds, she says, saying that they were attending four Christmas celebrations in two days, eating four turkey dinners and eventually they had to cut it back, “downsizing” to just one Christmas celebration per day in the family.

One distinguishable difference in the McDonald family was the lack of an early morning wake-up on Christmas morning. McDonald says her children never rose before 9 a.m. for their presents.

“They were never up at the crack of dawn,” she said. “They just slept in, there was no sense getting up.”

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE A7.

Barten’s holidays tied to Dutch tradition, food now, I’m keeping to the tradition of making it a New Year’s Eve treat and will be making them only for that day.”

She said some of the culinary confections aren’t necessarily part of her own Christmas traditions, but she does understand that they are must-haves for some families, and says that, in some cases, people have travelled from far afield to pick them up for the Christmas holidays.

Barten said she is very much looking forward to celebrating the holidays, especially since she was able to open her bakery just in time to help people sample the culinary delights from her home country.

For more information, visit Wilhelmina Bakery on Facebook.

Days with a focus on spending time with family. Her family has kept that tradition, and she has as well, spending either Dec. 25 or Dec. 26 with her own family and the other day with her boyfriend Sam Kalverboer’s family.

This year she looks forward to sharing her culinary heritage with customers by offering a few very special Christmas and holiday staples. She said she will, of course, be making her Dutch classic chocolate cakes, which are a yearround staple, but also taking on Dutch gingerbread, speculaas, almond logs, Dutch classic Christmas logs and oliebollen.

“Oliebollen is a New Year’s Eve treat,” she said. “While it’s sold all December long in the Netherlands

f us o l l a From Hortons m at Ti

Happy Holidays

What a year Willeke Barten, the owner of Wilhelmina Bakery near Londesborough, says that both food and Dutch tradition play large roles in her holiday celebrations year after year. This has been such a special year for her, with her business flourishing and finding her passion in food, that she’s really looking forward to Christmas. (Courtesy photo)

By Denny Scott The Citizen While it may come as little surprise, Willeke Barten, who recently opened her home-based bakery near Londesborough, has a lot of Christmas traditions tied to food.

From the traditional snacks left in her shoes on Dec. 5 every year, a practice that is at home in the Netherlands, to offering her own cultural culinary holiday touchstones through her bakery, Wilhelmina Bakery, Barten said food has become an important part of the holidays, second, of course, to family.

Barten’s family moved to Canada years ago, she said, and when they

did, her parents chose to focus on North American traditions instead of those from the Netherlands.

However, some of the traditions persisted thanks to gifts from family members, Barten said.

“The year we moved, a gift from my grandmother showed up on Dec. 5,” she said, explaining many Dutch people trade gifts that day.

“So that year, we celebrated both ways.”

Barten returned to the Netherlands several years ago to study baking and making ice cream and, in doing so, brushed up on her own culture, helping to further refine what she now offers through her bakery.

She also had an opportunity to learn more about the holiday

traditions there, getting together with friends and family for Dec. 5 before flying home for Christmas each year. She said being able to celebrate that way was a great experience.

While she celebrates in a more North American way now, she said there are some differences her family has always observed, like the two days of Christmas. In the Netherlands, she said there is no Boxing Day, but two Christmas

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PAGE A8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Christmas movies, cards all hallmarks of the holidays

Queen Maranda Klaver has had a longer reign than expected as the Huron County Queen of the Furrow after being crowned in 2019. She says Christmas time is filled with family activities at her home. (Photo submitted)

By Denny Scott The Citizen For Huron County Queen of the Furrow Maranda Klaver, now in her third year with the title, Christmas is a time for family and, with four sisters and her parents, a busy time at that.

“Christmas is definitely very

busy, and most of my family is fortunate enough to have time off at Christmas,” she said. “With that, we always make sure everyone comes over, we put on old Christmas movies, play cards and share a bunch of laughs.”

She said the family enjoys the time together, playing games like euchre and 31 and occasionally

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pulling board games out as well.

The family is of Dutch heritage, she said, and continues some of the practices that go along with that heritage.

“What my grandma always did, as long as we can remember, is give a chocolate letter for Christmas,” Klaver said. “My grandmother has now passed, but my mom still carries on that tradition and we all look forward to getting a chocolate letter of our first initial.”

The family also does a “Secret Santa” celebration every year, and while the tradition has been going on for quite awhile, it has changed recently.

“We put a twist on it the last couple of years with the gifts having to be home-made,” she said.

“It adds a nice little spin to it.”

The “Secret Santa” has been going on as long as Klaver can remember, she said, and it started out as a fun way for her parents to keep everyone excited about giving presents as well as receiving.

“It’s something to look forward to,” she said. “You don’t know who will have your name, so you try and figure that out, and while you’re excited to see who had you, it’s also exciting to see someone open the gift you gave them.”

She said the “Secret Santa” draw always happens on Christmas Eve, with the rest of the family’s celebrations following on Christmas Day, but not until after the chores are done on the family farm.

The family usually takes in a Christmas Eve church service, but the chores need to be done either right before or after the service, Klaver said, which can be a bit chaotic.

“In the morning, we just go to the barn to make sure everyone is happy and everything is good,” she said. “It usually works out fine.”

COVID-19 has made celebrating the holidays a challenge, Klaver said, but her family still tries to get

together when it’s possible and safe.

“With the big Dutch family, there are so many of us spread out over so many ages,” she said, explaining she has cousins that were born this year and aunts and uncles more senior than 70 years old.

“We don’t want to pass on anything to someone. We haven’t really had a chance to have Christmas, and we connect with each other through social media and phone calls to keep everyone safe.

Continued on page A11

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE A9.

Community care marks Smith Christmas memory as a young girl always involved plenty of people.

She said her family didn’t have much money growing up, but they also lived with her aunt and nine cousins, which meant it was always a “full house” around the holidays whether they had additional guests or not.

Smith said her mother always worked extra hard to make the holidays special for everyone in the house, and that included decorating in every room of the house. This is a tradition that Smith has continued since starting her own family and making her way to Brussels.

In her younger years, there was always plenty to celebrate at the house. Smith’s mother’s birthday was Dec. 9 and her parents’ wedding anniversary was Dec. 23,

so in addition to Christmas, there was plenty of celebrating going on.

Another memory of Smith’s is her father baking fresh bread for every child in the house over the holidays.

He sailed the Great Lakes, she said, and collected tins along the way so he could bake the bread. Then, around the holidays, no matter how many cousins were there for the holidays, everyone got a fresh loaf of bread as a present from him.

Working as a nurse for over 40 years, Smith’s schedule was always a little unpredictable, so celebrating with her children and grandchildren has required everyone to be flexible and creative, but, whether it’s Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or Boxing Day, they always find a day to spend together to mark Christmas.

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A time of hope Christmas is pretty traditional for Lynda Mayer-Smith, the Brussels-based president of the Maitland Valley Camera Club, but one will always stick out: the year her family lost their Brussels home to fire and the community stepped up with individual donations and fundraisers to ensure the family had everything it needed when the holidays rolled around. Above is one of Mayer-Smith’s images, taken as a member of the club. (Photo courtesy of Lynda Mayer-Smith of the Maitland Valley Camera Club)

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Lynda Mayer-Smith of Brussels, the president of the Maitland Valley Camera Club, says Christmas has meant a number of things to her over the years. One of the most memorable holidays, however, was one that began with a tragedy and ended with an outpouring of community support.

Living in Brussels in the late 1980s, Smith said her family suffered a devastating loss in the fall when their house burned down and they lost everything. It was a chaotic time for the family, Smith said in an interview with The Citizen, especially for her children, who were just three and seven years old at the time.

While Lynda and her husband had plenty to work through and co-

ordinate at the time, the children were concerned that Santa Claus would have no way of knowing that the family had abruptly moved to a new, temporary home after the fire, meaning they wouldn’t get any presents that Christmas. The Smiths took care of that, however, and created a sign on the site to direct Santa to the family’s new home to ensure no one was missed.

The Smiths now live in a new home on the site, but that first Christmas after the fire will always be memorable for the family, she says. The reason is the giving nature of the community, which made sure the Smiths would not go without that holiday season.

Through fundraisers and individual good deeds, Smith said the family was spoiled that holiday season. Everything was supplied for the Smiths, from the Christmas

Mer r y Christmas

tree and decorations down to presents for the children. She says she’ll never forget the generosity and care of the community that year.

That experience, Smith said, showed her family the true power of living in a small community where people care about their neighbours and go out of their way to help them when t hey need it.

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PAGE A10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Family lessons, giving important for Goetz

Passing it on From recipes to lessons to the reason for the season, local Principal Cathy Goetz and Brian White have spent the last 20 years together, sharing their families’ Christmas traditions with each other and each new generation. (Photo submitted)

By Denny Scott The Citizen North Woods Elementary School Principal Cathy Goetz is looking forward to Christmas this year with her grandchildren.

The long-time principal, who also served at Hullett Central Public School, said that this year’s Christmas will feature one-year-old Delaney, daughter of her son Curtis and fiancée Michelle, and her first grandson, born

to her son Kane and Jessica.

“It’s going to be a very exciting Christmas season,” she said in an interview with The Citizen.

While Delaney was born before Christmas last year, Goetz said that, as a newborn, she wasn’t as active as she will be this year.

While COVID-19 and the growth of her and her partner Brian’s families have led to some different scheduling decisions being made, Christmas for the couple is and has always been about family.

“We don’t have too much cemented down yet because everyone has extended families to fit in,” she told The Citizen earlier this month. “Christmas Day we normally spend with the White family, Brian’s mother and siblings and as many grandchildren and great-grandchildren as possible.”

The event, however, is a pop-in, or come-and-go kind of day, she said, because if everyone was there at once there could be as many as 70 people in attendance.

Goetz’s family will be getting together on the Tuesday after Christmas, including her brother and two sisters and their families.

“We get together at my brother’s and carry on our Dow [Goetz’s maiden name] family traditions,” she said. “The values our parents taught us really ring true there, playing games and doing small stocking exchanges to show love.”

She said that all the Christmas events she goes through in the holiday season show the value that both she and Brian have been taught and passed on to each other, including family and helping each other, pointing to the gift exchange with her family as an example.

“The gift isn’t so much about the object, but about the story and the thought that goes behind it,” she said.

Traditions are important, she said, pointing to her own family tradition of pickling that she has kept alive.

“I pickle like crazy all summer and fall and my nieces and nephews are thrilled to get pickled beets, chili, dill pickles and homemade jams,” she said. “It’s fun to see the little ones so excited, hiding each other’s jars and looking forward to opening them.”

She also pointed to some important gifts that are received, like the table-runners her nieces made one year after they had learned how to sew from their grandparents.

“They were beautiful, but it was

the fact that they made them that created that link,” she said.

There are store-bought items exchanged, she said, but there’s always a thought and a story behind it, pointing to one year when cleaning supplies made an appearance in the gift exchange after her nephews had been creative with markers all over the walls the year before.

“Seeing those in the stockings, we all immediately knew what to do with it,” she said. “It put us all in a good mood.”

Goetz also enjoys cooking throughout the year, and that’s apparent come Christmas.

“I can plan on cooking at least one turkey dinner, if not two, and helping out wherever,” she said.

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For her Dow family Christmas, she always makes her mom’s homemade Christmas pudding, a job she takes seriously.

She also loves teaching others how to cook and bake for the holiday season, passing on knowledge on how to make a dish like her mother’s homemade chocolates that she makes every year.

“Two years ago, I shared the recipe and did a baking lesson with my sister and two of my cousins who wanted to learn how to make their Aunt Gloria’s famous Continued on page A11

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE A11.

School celebrations focus on supporting others

“We really try to make sure we’re something, whatever form it may checking in with everybody - take.” students and adults and learning to be more aware of how others are feeling,” she said. “We’re all trying to be a little more empathetic.”

When it comes down to it, whether it’s at the school or with her family, Goetz says the goal of Christmas is balancing the natural excitement of the holiday with the engrained value of her parents.

“Christmas is about giving, but not just Normally, students at North Woods the gifts,” she said.

“It’s about giving Elementary School would enjoy a time, self, help, Christmas meal with all the trimmings, support, an ear to as shown in 2018. COVID-19 saw that listen or love to meal change this year. (File photo) someone who needs

Tradition

Season’s Greetings

Changing it up Due to COVID-19, North Woods Elementary School students couldn’t enjoy their traditional holiday meal, which involves them all congregating in the gym and breaking bread together. Instead, this year each class celebrated together with a spaghetti meal.

Principal Cathy Goetz said that meal, which focuses on togetherness, is an important part of the celebrations at the school. (Photo submitted) Continued from page A10 homemade chocolates that she makes every year.

“Two years ago, I shared the recipe and did a baking lesson with my sister and two of my cousins who wanted to learn how to make their Aunt Gloria’s famous homemade chocolates,” she said.

“It was a fun afternoon.”

While the recipe isn’t elaborate, the afternoon was filled with laughter, tears and honouring Goetz’s mother.

“They thought it was some elaborate recipe until they saw how easy it was,” she said. “My mom was a nurse, and she worked hard, and would come home at midnight on Christmas and start heating up the chocolate to get it ready for Christmas the next day.”

She said it was an important hallmark of the season for her cousins, nieces and nephews.

That was an important lesson, she said. Her mother, tired from working all day, would put others first before she could get to bed.

Her father did the same, she said, but applied it to farming, always

making sure the chores were done.

“The animals’ Christmas came before ours,” she said. “We always think of others first. I’m very thankful for those lessons. The world needs more of that.”

Goetz also gets to celebrate with a large family as a principal, and, despite COVID-19, her students and staff at North Woods Elementary School were able to celebrate this year.

“The last week of school we had a special spirit day every day,” she said. “There were days focused on Christmas hats and accessories, green and red days, and that kind of thing.”

She said the school also practices a land acknowledgement, which was emphasized during the weeks leading up to holidays.

“We tried to tie it in with some of the Christmas traditions and activities of various cultures,” she said. “We talked about the winter solstice, which is something my family has celebrated for a long time. We have a campfire that night, and put out cranberries, apple and orange rings and popcorns for the

birds. We appreciate being outside in nature.”

The school also celebrated some practices from other countries, including staff teaching about and demonstrating Dutch holiday celebrations.

Students also helped to bring in food for the CKNX Relief Truck food drive this year, hitting a new record with two pick-up trucks full of items.

North Woods Elementary School also has a long-standing tradition of a Christmas meal for the entire school. Normally, students would have a full holiday meal in the gymnasium of the school, however, this year, due to COVID-19, students stayed in their class and had a spaghetti lunch.

“The kids seemed to be very excited and the parents are giving good feedback,” she said. “We were still able to eat something special and be together, in a distanced way.”

She said the student body and staff are also aware that Christmas isn’t always a happy time for everyone.

Blyth Business Improvement Association www.blythnow.ca

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Parades set the tone for holidays Continued from page A8 Hopefully, when things are more safe, we can get together, but you can’t pick and choose when it’s safe and when it’s not.”

Having been crowned Huron County’s Queen of the Furrow in 2019, Klaver said her own Christmas has changed a little bit over the past few years as Santa Claus parades are now a big part of her own schedule.

“Instead of watching the Christmas parades, I get to be in them,” she said. “It’s exciting to see the kids get excited when they see a queen, and there are comments on the tiara and my sash. It gets me excited for Christmas.”

Most of the parades, she said, are held in November, so they serve as a way for her to get excited about the holidays beforehand.

She also participates in activities like the Seaforth Toy and Craft

Show and Sale, which allow her to stay connected with the community.

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PAGE A12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Christmas in 2016

No Christmas tree for Phillips during younger years They rotate with the other side of the family, hosting a meal on either Christmas Day or Boxing Day every year.

Christmas dinners have vastly improved at the house over the years with few catastrophes to report in recent years.

Decorating at the Phillips house has also come a long way from Ernie’s days in England. The family always has a real Christmas tree and decorates it with care every year.

There was one year, however, that Ernie had a grand idea to not decorate the house for Christmas whatsoever until Christmas Eve.

Ernie’s plan was to have all of the family’s decorations ready to go, and when the children went to bed, he and Emily would decorate the entire house, including putting the tree up and fully decorating it, for their children to find when they came down the stairs on Christmas morning.

All was going according to plan, Ernie said, until some neighbours came over for some drinks. The night turned into a long one and it was the early morning hours before Ernie and Emily got around to decorating the home. Needless to say, that experiment didn’t reach a second year.

Blyth Decor Shoppe Have a merry and safe holiday season from Barney (Don) & Linda Stewart & family Queen Street,

Quite a change Emily Phillips and her husband Ernie, who passed away in late 2019, celebrated their early Christmases in Montreal. It wasn’t until that time that Ernie had his first Christmas tree, a relative rarity during his youth growing up in England. (File photo) In 2016, Ernie Phillips, Citizen of the Year Award winner and longtime Blyth Lions Club member, and his wife Emily, prolific volunteer with her church and other organizations, shared their Christmas memories with Citizen Editor Shawn Loughlin.

Growing up in England during World War II, many Christmases were sparse around the Phillips household, usually consisting of a family meal and not much more.

In addition to lean years due to the war, members of the Phillips family were also dealing with loss and charged with picking up the pieces in the years before Ernie Phillips, this year’s Blyth Citizen of the Year, came to Canada.

When Ernie was a young boy, he attended a family birthday party when two bombs hit the home.

Ernie was the only person to make it out of the room alive, as the bombing killed his father and several aunts and uncles. His mother and sister also survived the bombing because they were in another part of the house.

As a result, family Christmases have changed quite a bit over the years as the family has lost members, added members and Ernie has moved to Canada.

As a young boy in England, Ernie was a choirboy for his local church and always performed as part of the choir at Christmas services. The Protestant Church played a big role in Ernie’s life in his younger years, as, due to financial pressures and the ongoing war effort, Christmas spoils were few and far between.

During those years, Ernie said his family never had a Christmas tree and any holiday decorations were hand-picked, or obtained by similar methods.

In the absence of a Christmas tree, Ernie said he and some of the other neighbourhood children would hand-pick holly to decorate homes and, if Ernie was lucky and his aim was true, maybe even some mistletoe.

Mistletoe grows on its own

branch in high portions of some trees. Ernie was often charged with either throwing rocks at the top of the tree or swinging a long branch in an attempt to dislodge mistletoe.

When it came to gifts, Ernie said he almost never received a toy when he was a child because toys were made of metal and all metal went to the war effort. In addition, candy was rationed, so there wasn’t much of the sweet stuff around on the holidays either.

What Ernie could count on around the holidays, however, was a new homemade pair of socks, a homemade pair of mittens and a homemade scarf.

When he wasn’t at home or singing in the church choir, Ernie said that he and other children in the church would make their way throughout the neighbourhood singing Christmas carols and collecting money for the church.

Church was always a big part of Ernie’s wife Emily’s life as well, growing up the daughter of a pastor.

For Christmas dinner, Ernie’s mother would always special order a chicken in the fall, which was a big deal for the family in those days.

It wasn’t until Ernie moved to Canada that he had his first Christmas tree to mark the holidays. In fact, the first Christmas Ernie spent with Emily, included a 15-foot-high tree in their Montreal apartment with ceilings that were likely about 10 feet high.

After some trimming, Emily said, the couple was able to make the tree fit, but she remembers it being decorated sparingly because they only had a few bulbs and one string of lights.

The couple’s first Christmas dinner was also memorable for a number of reasons. It hadn’t snowed for the weeks leading up to Christmas, but then that night Montreal received a dumping of snow that completely paralyzed the city. Ernie and Emily’s car got stuck in the snow. So they attempted to travel on the subway, but they

couldn’t get to where they needed to go, missing out on a big Christmas dinner, as well as a Christmas party.

The couple returned to Ernie’s apartment and attempted to cobble together a Christmas dinner with what little food Ernie had in the apartment. The result was a version of breakfast for dinner that featured fried Prem, fried eggs, baked beans and fried potatoes.

Christmas dinners have improved at the Phillips house since that first experience, although they were the victim of an oven’s malfunction one Christmas.

Emily said that two and a half hours into cooking the Christmas turkey one year in Montreal their oven ceased to operate and they were left scrambling. After calling around the neighbourhood and finding that most families’ ovens were occupied with turkeys of their own, there was one neighbour willing to help, although she was far too nervous to keep an eye on the turkey for Emily.

So, after Ernie and Emily transported the half-cooked turkey to their neighbour’s house wrapped in bath robes via a child’s wagon, Emily would have to suit up in her winter clothes and walk to the woman’s house once an hour to baste the turkey and assure the homeowner that the cooking process was going well.

The Phillipses still host Christmas dinner at their home on Moncrieff Road north of Blyth.

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE A13.

Christmas in 2013

Langlois provides insight as to how Santa celebrates The Citizen. “If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t do it.”

The parade, he says, is always a big day on his calendar every year.

What keeps him coming back is the children he gets to meet every year.

Langlois took over the big chair in the Brussels Santa Claus parade when Wayne Lowe, who had previously been Santa, passed away. He says Lowe loved Christmas, so it was hard to lose him around that time of year.

“It gets in your blood,” Langlois

said. “It can be a hell of a job some days.”

Langlois says getting dressed as Santa Claus is the hardest part of the job. He spent money on a good quality suit, which looks great, but is no picnic to change into, he says.

Luckily, however, he is not alone.

His wife Pat makes the journey with him every year as Mrs. Claus, a job she particularly enjoys as well.

“She enjoys it,” Langlois says.

“The kids, the parade, all of it.”

Every year, Langlois says, he Continued on page A20

In the town, or on the farm, we hope the holiday really mooves you! With our thanks and to one and all.

Merry Christmas!

Don Sholdice LIVESTOCK

An important mantle George and Pat Langlois, who took on the role of Santa and Mrs. Claus in the Brussels Santa Claus parade every year, told The Citizen what Christmas was like for them and theirs way back in 2013. (File photo) George and Pat Langlois, who played the roles of Santa and Mrs. Claus for years in Brussels, shared their Christmas recollections with The Citizen in 2013.

For George Langlois, a charter member of the Brussels Optimist Club, it’s not too difficult to find a Christmas tradition that has stood the test of time.

Langlois has spent the last 15 years or so as Santa Claus in the

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annual Brussels Santa Claus Parade, among a number of other functions, so when the holiday rolls around, it’s not very hard to find him.

Despite having a stroke a few years ago, Langlois has continued his stint as the big guy come December and says he has no plans to step down.

“It’s quite a job, but it’s fun,” Langlois said in an interview with

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PAGE A14. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Christmas in 2018

Baking, family time key to Falconer Christmas

Family, treats and remembrance The Falconers, who spoke with The Citizen in 2018 when Kevin Falconer was elected to North Huron Township Council, focuses on remembering the past, spending time together and Lorie baking up a storm in the family’s kitchen, as is tradition. (File photo) In 2018, newly-elected North Huron Councillor Kevin Falconer and his wife, prolific community volunteer Lorie Falconer, shared their Christmas traditions with The Citizen.

Christmas is a time for remembrance and lots of treats for the Falconer family in Blyth.

Newly-installed Blyth Councillor and retired long-time firefighter Kevin Falconer and his wife Lorie, a

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member of the Huron County Accessibility Advisory Committee, always host the family Christmas at their Blyth home and welcome the growing crowd that makes the trip every year.

Lorie has been baking since she was a young girl and makes a point of creating plenty of tasty treats around the holidays. As soon as they were old enough, daughters Jackie and Corine helped out when they could. Now that they no longer live at home, the family sets a weekend aside and makes sure everyone is able to make it home to get the baking done ahead of Christmas.

That tradition, Lorie says, has been going for generations and every Christmas she goes back to a collection of recipes from parents and grandparents and old community and church cookbooks to ensure there is plenty to eat over the holidays.

And while there are traditional standards that always make an appearance every year, Lorie said that she and the girls always make an effort to add a new dish every Christmas.

Her offerings have been so good over the years that Lorie was considering opening a chocolate store for a time, but eventually opted against it.

Kevin grew up in Whitechurch, as did Lorie, but then Kevin spent much of his childhood in Toronto before returning to Whitechurch in his late teens.

Even when he was in Toronto, Kevin and his family made their way back to Whitechurch every Christmas to spend the holidays with his grandparents.

He grew up on what used to be the home of Edgar’s Feed and Seed.

Now a popular destination for local families looking for Christmas trees, it was Kevin’s father who originally

planted many of those trees, so the Falconers always make a point to get to Edgar’s and buy their tree for the year.

Those Christmas dinners back in Whitechurch, Kevin said, were always very large affairs. Full of family, extended family and neighbours, the dinners brought together many from the community for a special meal during the holidays.

There weren’t many gifts in those days, Kevin said, but he remembers one Christmas when he received a toy plane under the tree that he’s positive was taller than he was.

On the Falconers’ Christmas tree you’ll find memory balls peppered throughout the tree, honouring and remembering friends and family members who have passed away over the years.

This is again a tradition that has been passed down from years ago.

The clear ornaments hold pictures of those who have passed away and both Kevin and Lorie say it has been the perfect way to remember those who are no longer with them around the holidays.

When they were first married and living in an apartment in Blyth, Continued on page A22

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE A15.

Scrimgeours put out a spread for Christmas Don said, because of their years of dealing with the company and because they’re simply the best, he said.

The meal is traditional and bountiful, Lenora said, meaning that the table is full of turkey, potatoes and all the trimmings. For years, she would make Christmas cake, a recipe she would learn and adapt from her mother, but the children soon gravitated away from the dish, with Lenora saying they only liked the sauce.

She will still make her gumdrop cake and shortbread around the holidays, as well as a variety of cookies, with her children saying it’s not Christmas until she makes

those for the kids. Lenora even mailed out some treats to Kevin for him to enjoy for the holidays this year because they can’t all be together.

When Don and Lenora were young parents, Don says the kids would get up to some trouble on occasion, depending on what they found in the house.

Kevin, for example, once opened one of his gifts early and attempted to wrap it back up so no one would notice, while all three of the kids once broke into Lenora’s shortbread stash ahead of the holidays.

Lenora said she had spent days baking enough shortbread for the Continued on page A24

Remembering While Christmas is a time for snacks and great food, the decorations are also important for Don and Lenora Scrimgeour. One especially important accoutrement of the season is the angel on their front lawn, shown above, which represents granddaughter Ainsleigh Bontaine, who the Scrimgeours lost 15 years ago. The family remembers Ainsleigh through the ornament and other activities throughout the holidays. (Shawn Loughlin photo)

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Christmas is a big deal at the home of Don and Lenora Scrimgeour of Blyth. The noted former business owners and volunteers have always loved the holiday and made it a big part of their lives.

The couple used to be at the helm of Scrimgeour’s Food Market in Blyth, an institution in the village for decades that now lives on as Blyth Food Market after they sold it several years ago. The Scrimgeours are both known for their community involvement and volunteerism

in Blyth and beyond over the years.

In an interview with The Citizen, Lenora said that they always head to mass on Christmas Eve and have since their children were little. They would return home for some tourtiere, a Quebecois meat pie dish, Caesar salad and more before spending time together with family for the rest of the night.

On Christmas Day, they would traditionally get together with their children and grandchildren. Their children Brent and Heidi are local, so they’re able to often spend the holidays together, while their son Kevin lives on the west coast and

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often can’t make it home for Christmas.

Don and Lenora have been responsible for the family Christmas dinner for many years, taking care of the turkey in recent years. It’s always a Hayter’s turkey,

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PAGE A16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Stephenson Christmas a food-filled affair from table to table that can result in a spilled drink.

They would go to Maria’s sister’s home too on occasion. However, that couldn’t happen until John fixed another problem at their own house, constructing a special doggy door for the couple’s dogs that allowed them to come in and out of the house, meaning John and Maria could spend more time away from the house, knowing the dogs would

be safe, well fed and able to make their way outside to do their business.

Growing up in Toronto, John found Christmas to be a busy time for his family. He said his family wasn’t able to buy a house on their own, or even rent one, so they often would split a house with relatives.

At Christmas, when more family came over, there was barely enough Continued on page A17

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A time for family Citizen photographer John Stephenson, above, and his wife Maria, top right and below, have always made the holidays a big part of their year, filled with family, food and good times. Maria often spends weeks leading up to Christmas baking everything from cookies and treats to tapping into her Italian heritage with cannoli. (Courtesy photos)

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen For Citizen weekend photographer John Stephenson and his wife Maria, the holidays mean plenty of food and family, no matter where they happen to be that year.

The Stephensons live in Brussels, having moved there just a few years ago after John retired. They were looking for somewhere near Lake Huron and, after looking at a few places, ended up in Brussels. John grew up in Toronto and he and Maria used to live in Alliston before moving to Huron County.

Now they host some celebrations over the holidays, notably with Maria’s sister, with whom she’s very close. Maria’s sister is 13 years younger than her, so Maria essentially raised her. Maria said she thinks of that sister’s children not as nephews, but as her grandchildren.

They get together either on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or Boxing Day, depending on the year, and there is always plenty of food around.

John and Maria last spent the holidays with that part of the family in 2019, when they came to Brussels for brunch on Christmas Day around noon. They were planning on having that part of the family back to Brussels this year after missing last year, but like so much during the pandemic, they would have to wait and see. The plan was, tentatively, to spend the holiday together on Boxing Day. Last year, Maria said, was the first Christmas ever that she and her sister weren’t together for the holidays.

John and Maria traditionally spend Christmas Eve together alone just for some time on their own.

When they lived in Alliston, John and Maria would host big Christmas celebrations, bringing in excess of 30 people to their home to celebrate Christmas. John had to custom-build some tables for the large gatherings, taking great care to eliminate the problematic gaps

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE A17.

Stephenson learned Christmas lessons the hard way

It’s a tough job...

While Citizen photographer John Stephenson’s wife Maria spends weeks baking for the holidays, John has been happy to volunteer in the quality control department to do his part. (Courtesy photo)

Continued from page A16 room to accommodate everyone, he said. He could remember years when he and the other kids would eat their Christmas dinner on the stairs. Each would pick a stair and dig in.

There were a few rules around the Stephenson household to keep the kids honest around the holidays as well. The first was to combat any snooping around that the children might do.

John says his mother had a rule that, if you found a gift before it was wrapped and given to you, it went back. So, that kept everyone from digging around the house too much.

The second rule was that everyone had to eat their breakfast before they could open their presents on Christmas morning.

One year when John was about seven or eight years old, he got a little creative and did something he still remembers to this day for how it disappointed his mother. He got up really early and dressed his siblings, bringing them downstairs and feeding them some breakfast so they could all open their presents.

His mother came down the stairs

to see the kids all playing with their toys and he said she cried all day, so he swore he’d never do that again either. John’s mother, who is 88 years old, will still mention that Christmas, he said.

Maria said Christmas wasn’t really emphasized in her home when she was a kid, so that’s why she really goes to extremes to enjoy the holiday now as an adult.

She spends weeks leading up to the holidays cooking and baking in preparation. With her Italian heritage, food is in her blood, so she’ll make everything from cannoli to other cakes and cookies for the holidays. (Her brown sugar fudge recipe, a holiday favourite at John and Maria’s house, was featured in The Citizen’s holiday recipe section a few weeks ago.

That recipe, after some investigation, has been in the family for generations and Maria thinks it dates back to the late 1800s.)

For years, when John and Maria lived in an apartment complex, John would take on the role of Santa Claus for the children of the complex. That only lasted for a few years, however, before John no

longer took on the role of Santa Claus, though it was something he loved to do for the children of the community.

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PAGE A18. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Nonkes has fond memories of four-legged gift

A rare visit For Sylvia Nonkes and her husband Tony Verburg, Christmas is all about family, but the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a wrench into those plans. Above, the pair saw Sylvia’s daughter Angela and granddaughter, who received Sylvia’s gifts last year during an outdoor Christmas visit. (Courtesy photo)

By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen For Sylvia Nonkes of the Auburn area, a member of the Maitland Valley Camera Club, and her husband Tony Verburg, Christmas celebrations have changed a bit over the years, resulting in a growing family foundation.

Nonkes and Verburg are both married for the second time, as their first spouses passed away, so their current family unit is blended.

When children, grandchildren and, for Tony, great-grandchildren are factored in, there could be over 35 seats at the proverbial table for the holidays. They have nine children, all from their previous marriages, and now a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. As a result, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Sylvia and Tony had no choice but to try and host separate Christmas celebrations, one for each side of the family.

On Tony’s side, they would often head to a local restaurant for dinner, rather than trying to cook for nearly 30 people. That became a good practice, Tony said, because that would be everyone’s Christmas

present as well. He did, however, keep up with the Dutch tradition of buying chocolate letters to coincide with the first initial of everyone’s name. He said that getting one for every member of the blended family resulted in an end tally of 37 letters purchased, nearly an alphabet and a half.

Before and after either of the celebrations, Sylvia and Tony have played host to visitors for a social time for those who can afford the extra time for holiday cheer with their family, which has always been a special time for the pair.

One dish that Sylvia has now been making for years over the holidays is a raspberry trifle. She jokes that it has caught on because it was one of the dishes she created over the years that “worked”, but it has been a favourite of family members for years, she said, so it’s always requested over the holidays.

Growing up, Sylvia said attending church around Christmas was always a big part of life for her family, as it still is now. The Sunday before Christmas Day was always a church day for the family and they would always attend over the course of the holidays as well.

She always has fond memories of those services, she said, when there would often be special musical performances by the Sunday school members or a local choir or even the church’s choir to make the holiday service extra special.

One Christmas will always stick out in Sylvia’s childhood, she said, when she was about eight years old and her parents surprised the kids with one final Christmas gift at the end of the night that wasn’t under the tree, but waiting out in the garage. It was a puppy that the kids named Lassie. Sylvia said she and Lassie were inseparable for years and that she was with her until she moved out on her own many years later. She said she remembers that as a really special time for her family.

When she was older and had children of her own, Sylvia said they would always open presents from the family on Christmas Eve, with some bonus gifts from Santa Claus for the children appearing on Christmas morning as well.

Tony said his childhood Christmas celebrations, growing up in the Seaforth area, were often

rather sparse and whether the children got gifts or not often depended on the year. As a result, the holidays were about family and being together without a big emphasis on gift-giving.

As he got older and he and his siblings all got married and started families of their own, Tony said they would still get together around the holidays for one day to share that time together and reconnect with the family unit.

He said the family would always attend church on Christmas morning and then get together afterwards for a Christmas meal.

However, with just about everyone in the group being a farmer, things tended to wrap up just as the sun was going down so everyone could get home in time to do their chores for the night.

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE A19.

Christmas features family, neighbours and road hockey

By Denny Scott The Citizen

For the Kolkman family of Blyth, this Christmas is going to be a special event with two grandchildren celebrating and making the regular traditions of the family even more special.

Lissa and Robert, alongside their children Leticia, Kurtis, Marlayna and Brennan, will be celebrating with two grandchildren when they take part in their annual traditions.

“Things are a bit different this year from last year, but we’re still going to focus on the traditions,” Lissa told The Citizen. “We do a breakfast/brunch before we open gifts and then, sometimes, we go out and play a road hockey game, sometimes with our neighbours.”

The game is a newer tradition, Lissa said, and while it can’t happen every year, it has gone ahead for most of the past five years.

Before the game, however, the family gives to each other with stockings.

“Each person takes a turn and takes one thing out so we can all enjoy it,” she said. “Everyone takes a turn.”

While there may be other gifts, the stockings are the one guaranteed tradition every year, Kolkman said.

While COVID-19 will have an impact on Christmas for everyone, Lissa said it hasn’t had as drastic an impact on her family’s celebrations as it’s had on others.

“In the past we’ve gone to my mom’s and Robert’s mom’s… but those [visits] have gone by the wayside with COVID,” she said.

Robert’s uncle always makes sure that everyone gets the traditional Dutch chocolate initials, she said, but beyond that, family celebrations have settled down in previous years.

With their children being between the ages of 23 and 31, Lissa said things have changed.

“Twenty years ago, Christmas was busy as we all visited both sides of our family,” she said. “We would see Robert’s parents and my parents and sometimes on the same day.

Running around with the four kids made Christmas a busy time for our family.”

The family goes to a Christmas church service, and sometimes, though not always, decorates the tree as a family.

“Sometimes that’s a family thing,

but sometimes things just work out, I have to do it on my own,” Lissa said. “Sometimes the girls and I do a tree-decorating night together.”

There are ornaments, Lissa said, that have been created or gifted throughout the years that serve as an important part of those familyfocused tree-decorating moments.

“There is a kind of reminiscing through the ornaments,” she said.

“We remember when they were made or given out.”

Typically, Lissa said there would be a celebration through her workplace, CIBC, and Robert did have a small gathering through his job at Foxton Fuels, however those kinds of events are limited this year due to COVID-19.

When it comes down to it, Lissa said the most important Christmas tradition is making time for her, her husband and her children to get together and celebrate as a family.

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Holiday happenings While their traditions aren’t always annual, Lissa and Robert Kolkman have some fun activities with family and neighbours during the holidays, including a neighbourhood game of road hockey. (Photo submitted)

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PAGE A20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Games a big part of Gaspirc’s Christmas to and after Christmas, when they play together.

“Over the Christmas break, we do lots of video games around the house,” she said. “We also play Nintendo games like Super Mario Brothers.”

She said she also usually does a large puzzle, somewhere between 100 and 1,000 pieces with her

family, over the break.

She also said that the classic board game Settlers of Catan is an important tradition for her and her family.

When it comes to Christmas Day, however, the traditions are around food and giving, she said.

“We usually start with stockings Continued on page A22

Family tradition President of the Brussels Leo Club Marley Gaspirc, left, told The Citizen that Christmas time is game time for her and her family. Whether they’re playing video games (like those featuring the famous plumber peeking out from her shirt over the table) or classic board games like Settlers of Catan, which she is shown playing with her sister Rowan, there’s a lot of fun at her house during the holidays. (Photo submitted)

By Denny Scott The Citizen Brussels Leo Club President Marley Gaspirc says that games are an important part of her family’s Christmas tradition.

The 15-year-old F.E. Madill School student, who lives in Brussels, said her family has some fairly unique traditions, including watching scary movies instead of the traditional Christmas fare.

Langlois played Santa across Huron County Continued from page A13 plays the big role at about 12 different events throughout Brussels, Clinton and Seaforth.

“Playing Santa Claus is a big deal to me,” Langlois says. “As long as I’m alive, I’ll get up there every year.”

Langlois grew up in Sudbury as part of a French-Canadian family, so Christmas, he says, was always an important time of year, with lots of food and drink to be had around the holidays.

In the early 1970s, Langlois first visited Seaforth, fell in love with Huron County and vowed to move back as soon as he could. He and Pat lived in Seaforth and they moved to Brussels soon after.

“I’ve been to a lot of places and Huron County is just the most beautiful,” Langlois says.

Another mandatory stop on Langlois’ Christmas tour every year is the celebration on Hill Street in Clinton.

At home, however, Langlois doesn’t need to dress up as Santa for his family. He spends plenty of time over the holidays with his children, grandchildren and even his six-month-old greatgranddaughter, no suit necessary.

“I’m not sure how it started, but for a few years, we’ve watched a scary movie on Christmas Eve instead of a traditional Christmas one,” she said. “We were watching a bunch of scary movies at Halloween and I think it just kind of carried over from that. We decided we should do it at Christmas, and we’ve done it the same ever since.”

Her entire family also gets new pajamas on Christmas Eve, usually some kind of matching set, to wear and celebrate in together, she said, adding she thinks that’s a great tradition.

While many traditions focus on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or Boxing Day, Gaspirc said many of her favourite traditions with her siblings are in the days leading up

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE A21.

Christmas in 2009

The perfect tree is central to Cardiff Christmas perfect tree for years. And haven’t had to go too far to do so.

What makes the Cardiff tree even more special is that it comes from their own farm. Jeff said about 2,800 trees were planted as a windbreak and now they are serving double duty offering a festive touch to the family Christmas.

“We cut where the trees need to be thinned,” said Jeff, adding that they make sure to find a day when everyone can take part. Which can be tricky when one factors in busy lives with the capriciousness of Huron County winters.

“Sometimes we’re in snow up to our hips, and we’ve even had the

snowmobile stuck. Other times it can be quite muddy.”

Perspective can also make the freshly cut tree project an interesting one as well.

“Sometimes we cut it back in the field and think, ‘That’s a nice little tree,’” says Jeff. “Then we get back and it’s way too big,” said Cathy.

Another time, they remember the tree seemed to be taking up a lot more water than it should. “We came home one day and it was on its side. There was a hole in the tree stand and the water was running through to the hardwood floor,” said Jeff. “It buckled and tipped the Continued on page A22

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A wealth of tradition Whether it’s a family white Christmas cake recipe (above) or the hunt for the perfect tree (below), tradition is a way of life for Jeff and Cathy Cardiff and their children Emily and Matthew when The Citizen spoke with them about their holiday traditions in 2009. (File photo)

Jeff and Cathy Cardiff of the Brussels area, well known for their work with the Brussels Agricultural Society, their church and many other community endeavours, as well as the 2004 Citizens of the Year, shared their Christmas story with then-Citizen Editor Bonnie Gropp in 2009.

They have trudged through kneedeep snow, wallowed in mud, or delighted in a Rockwellian winterscape, all in pursuit of that holiday tradition — the Christmas tree.

Jeff and Cathy Cardiff (2004 Citizens of the Year for Brussels) along with their kids, Emily and Matthew have made the annual pilgrimage to find the elusive

A

nd the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:10-11

May you be blessed with peace and understanding throughout this holy season.

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PAGE A22. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Gaspircs enjoy a Christmas casserole Continued from page A20 nice and early,” she said. “Usually that’s between 6 and 7 a.m. We’re not allowed to wake anyone up before then.”

She said the family typically enjoys a “wife saver” casserole made of bread, egg, milk, rice crispies and cheese.

“We’ve been doing that as long as I can remember,” she said. “My mom probably had that as a kid, maybe.”

From there, Gaspirc’s holiday plans focus on spending time together with her family members.

She typically visits her dad for one week at Christmas, but last year wasn’t able to due to the restrictions.

“That was different,” she said. “It was the first year I was here at my mom’s house for the whole of Christmas break. I’m not sure about this year. We’ll be waiting until closer to the time to make that decision.”

She also spoke to the holiday traditions of the Leo Club, saying that, due to COVID-19, the last two years have been difficult for the organization.

“We’re not really doing anything this year,” she said.

“We were at the Christmas Market at the Four Winds Barn, selling poinsettias and urn bundles, but it’s not the greatest time to be trying to do community events right now.”

ZÄÉÜç àÉ ZÉw |Ç à{x [|z{xáà Thanks for being an important part of our year.

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Helping to find the spirit When faced with the possibility of a green Yuletide, it can be tough to find any holiday spirit, but that becomes even more difficult during the trying times of a pandemic.

Fortunately for people in Huron County, there were plenty of opportunities to take in local Santa Claus Parades with people like the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association (in the Blyth Santa Claus parade) to kickstart the joyous season. (John

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Cardiffs cut a tree at Christmas Continued from page A21 tree over,” added Cathy.

While the family has had to ‘cheat’ a few times and buy a tree, cutting their own is a tradition that has come to be quite special. “It’s nice to go out on our own farm and cut something that you’ve grown,” said Jeff.

“The kids like it too. We have to

wait until they’re able to be here because we have to have the big discussion about which tree suits.

You want a good top for the angel, something symmetrical, not too wide and nice and green.

“Usually it comes down to which one can be cut,” laughs Cathy.

While the tree may not always be perfect the time with family is,

whether it’s the tree, or some of the other Cardiff traditions like Jeff’s grandmother’s White Christmas Cake, or the service on Christmas Eve at the church. “We get together with friends for dinner, we take turns hosting, then all go to church together,” said Jeff.

“It’s really what the season’s about, family, church and friends.”

Sundaes special to the holidays Continued from page A14 ornaments, however, weren’t their top priority.

Lorie said that for their first Christmas together, they got their tree, but only had a small amount of money with which to decorate it.

They bought plenty of bright flashing lights to make it pop, but only had enough money to buy one ornament.

So, for their first Christmas together, they had bright, flashing lights and one ornament marking their first Christmas together. Their ornament selection has grown substantially since then.

With both sets of parents so close in those early days, Kevin and Lorie remember attending two Christmas dinners every Christmas Day. The food was excellent, she said, but having just a short walk in between houses, eating enough food to make both families happy left them both feeling pretty full by the end of the night.

When Kevin and Lorie had children, the aforementioned Corine and Jackie, as well as son Orie, and they were now the ones buying the presents, they learned quickly to avoid anything with an extensive build time or a large amount of detail.

Kevin says he distinctly remembers one Christmas when he had to built a kitchen set for one of

the girls. With dozens of parts and nearly 150 decals, he said he was up past 3 a.m. making the set and that was the end of overly complicated gifts for their children.

With everyone home, in addition to Lorie’s baked treats, there are always ice cream sundaes that come from a very specific place. The family always bids on litres of ice cream during the CKNX Christmas auction on the radio.

This year, with Kevin being sworn in as councillor the night of the auction, the couple’s three children were all monitoring the Horton’s Dairy ice cream from

wherever they were in the province.

This year it went smoothly, Kevin said, but there have been years when it hasn’t. After missing out on the auction ice cream one year, Kevin went to Horton’s and bought raspberry ice cream. It didn’t take long for the family to discover that the raspberry ice cream, while good on its own, didn’t go with anything and 11 litres of ice cream was a lot to eat in the coming weeks.

Gift buying has died down slightly in recent years. With grandchildren in the picture, the focus has now shifted to buying them presents and everyone is just fine with that.

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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021. PAGE A23.

Christmas about helping others for Blyth’s McGregors

By Denny Scott The Citizen Blyth’s Duncan and Lynda McGregor have a unique view on Christmas, with the former naming himself a pagan and the latter deeply involved with local Anglican churches, but the two make it work both in their home and outside every year.

Duncan, who spoke to The Citizen the week before Christmas, explained that, before he came to Blyth in his mid-40s, Christmas was always a family tradition for him, somewhat separate from the religious celebration many other families enjoy..

“I always had Christmas with my parents, who lived in Toronto,” he said, noting he lived in St. Catharines before he and Lynda moved to Blyth. “That was one of the traditions I always kept.”

Duncan said his siblings went off to various parts of the country, but, being close enough to make the trip, he would always see his parents at Christmas, even after he moved to Blyth.

“When I came up here, Lynda and I continued that tradition, even during snowstorms,” he said. “I enjoyed seeing my

parents and I was close enough.”

He said the tradition continued as his parents aged, and faced the difficulties that accompany that, which made the connection the event provided even stronger.

He said helping to take care of them was a full-circle experience for him, as they had taken care of him.

“It’s sort of a mutual thing, and a good thing to do to make sure I gave my parents [care and love] as good as they gave me,” he said.

He said his parents weren’t very religious, but Christmas was always a very important event that everyone enjoyed until his brother and sister moved to other parts of the country.

Now, visiting his grandchildren is the highlight of Christmas, though COVID-19 has had an impact on that.

“We’ve been seeing family a lot,” he said, noting there was a definitive bubble for his family.

“The kids come up for the weekends and we keep a good connection with them otherwise, especially over the last two years.”

He said, prior to COVID, there would be large family gatherings to mark the holiday season. However, now, to best follow the local public

health recommendations, the families are meeting in smaller groups.

Like the groups, the family Christmas tree has also shrunk, Duncan said, due to COVID-19.

“Usually we pick up a big tree… south of Wingham,” he said. “It’s huge, because we have high ceilings. Putting one of those things

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year recently. This year, for example, he donned the mantle of St. Nicholas at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Wingham when the church’s traditional stand-in wasn’t available.

He was able to share stories about the two Saints (Nicholas and Paul) with the congregation in a way that Continued on page A24

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up can feel like it takes a month.”

The tree was a centre-point for celebrations with friends and family, and while McGregor said he’s confident in the steps taken to control the virus, those gatherings won’t likely happen this year due to the pandemic.

Outside the family, McGregor’s Christmas activities vary year to

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PAGE A24. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021.

Christmas about helping others for Blyth’s McGregors involved with several organizations and for the last two years she and her friends have been focusing on the Huron Women’s Shelter in Goderich.

“She was crucial in developing a practice for a group of women who make kits for the women who are in the shelter,” Duncan said.

“Alongside a number of women from Blyth, and one from Wingham, they packaged up all these kits.”

Lynda explained that, while it is important to focus on giving children in the shelter a good Christmas, the mothers and other women there can’t be forgotten. She

Walton, Ontario

Christmas through others Christmas is all about family and helping others for Blyth’s Duncan and Lynda McGregor.

Lynda says the holiday season can’t really be enjoyed until she’s helped those less fortunate than herself, leading to several initiatives she’s taking part in that focus on those who need a little help at the holidays. (Denny Scott photo) Continued from page A23 kept the children interested, he said.

It was an exciting opportunity.

Next year, McGregor will be putting on a Christmas play in Goderich at The Livery for families including children aged four and up. It will be a pair of plays that

said there is a child inside everyone who likes to receive gifts and surprises at Christmas and the women at the shelter especially need to be remembered when they are facing such a difficult time.

Lynda and her friends also “adopt” a family every year to help along with Christmas. She said they focus on families that have been through the shelter and make sure that family is able to celebrate the holiday.

Duncan also said that, with Lynda’s birthday being on Dec. 21, the family has plenty to celebrate over the holidays to mark both occasions.

McGregor performed when he was in St. Catharines, he said, and he’s looking forward to being a part of the celebration.

For Lynda, Christmas can’t be celebrated until she, and, by extension, her friends, have turned their efforts to helping the less

fortunate around the holidays.

While she is kept very busy at Christmas, being the organist/pianist for Trinity Anglican Church in Blyth and St. Paul’s in Wingham, her first focus is on helping the less fortunate.

Over the years she has been

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Scrimgeours remember Bontaine Continued from page A15 baking enough shortbread for the holidays one year, storing it for safekeeping away from prying eyes. However, when it came time to bring some of it out for guests, she went down to find it and there were only crumbs in the tins.

All three children, she said, will still bring it up to this day, with each one blaming the other for the theft.

Don and Lenora say they can’t really remember splurging on gifts for the kids over the years, just the standard gifts like toys when they were younger, though they do remember buying each of the children a television when they went off to college.

As a young boy, Don says Christmases were pretty quiet and contained. Often, he would celebrate with just his parents and his brother Doug... and a couple of dogs, he added. The holidays were a pretty quiet time for his family, he said.

For Lenora, growing up as a Hallahan, there was always plenty of family around and there would often be visitors or visiting on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. She said her father worked for Huron County and would often never settle for a second-tier Christmas tree. Lenora said he always had to have the best for his family and wouldn’t stop the search until he found it.

He would put the tree up and Lenora and her mother would often decorate it. That tradition has held on, in a way, to this day, in that Lenora decorates all over the family’s house around Christmas,

from room to room and outdoors.

Speaking of trees, Lenora said that, 54 years ago, she and Don spent their first Christmas together in a tiny London, Ontario apartment with their “Charlie Brown” tree.

Because of their limited space, they had to trim the already-sparse tree, but they didn’t have a saw, so they had to use one of Don’s butcher’s knives to do the trick.

One of the most important decorations they have on their lawn is a decorative angel for their granddaughter Ainsleigh Bontaine, who they lost 15 years ago this year. Don and Lenora say that Ainsleigh isn’t just remembered by way of that special ornament, but when they say grace and when they speak about her family, saying that she’s always with them.

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'O Come All Ye Faithful Guided only by a single star Three wise men journeyed afar To the manger where the infant lay On that very first Christmas Day. May your spirits be lifted and your faith renewed as we recall the miracle of Christmas.