On Friday, I took advantage of the good weather to appease the Ghost of Christmas Presents and, in the process, ended up in a mall. There, I happened upon a mob of young children shivering with anticipation and anxiously awaiting the arrival of Old St. Nick. As I paused for a moment to watch exhausted parents trying to keep their wide-eyed wee ones in line, I thought how lucky Dunvegan families were to have access to a homegrown Mr. and Mrs. Claus, without having to step outside of the hamlet.
Mona Andre, the DRA director who organized the Christmas party at the Dunvegan Recreation hall last Saturday told me nearly 20 kids, plus their parents, were in attendance. And they obviously had a good time. Long after Santa and his entourage had left the building, Mona reports that people stayed on dancing and just having fun. In her opinion, the day’s success was due to the great help she had. She wanted to publically acknowledge the efforts of Mike and Anne Bertrand from the eastern tip of County Road 24 who agreed to be Mr. and Mrs. Claus’s representatives here in Dunvegan. She also wanted me to thank her elves, Christina, Richard and Stephanie Quesnel, Brittany Barton and Bre Mongillo, for tirelessly staffing the game and cookie decorating stations… and for, along with Ben Williams, donating the gingerbread, sugar cookies and marshmallows and candies that provided fodder for the fun.
Each child received a gift bag from Santa that contained activity books, tattoos, treats and a bag containing a special oatmeal and sprinkles mix designed to attract Santa’s reindeer. I asked about this year’s new activity — the Gingerbread House Competition — and was told they had two great entries. However, now more folks know about the contest, Mona is counting on more people competing next year.
Nancy White rocks
Before we move on, I wanted to mention an unsung hero when it comes to December events at our little community hall: Nancy White. It’s thanks to her decorating skills, attention to detail and seemingly endless inventory of ornaments and props that the hall is transformed into a holiday-themed venue befitting Santa’s Visit, our Christmas Euchre tournament (more on this shortly) and private Christmas functions which have become a tradition with some large families in the area. Thank you, Nancy. We don’t know what we’d do without you and your swag-hanging husband, Gordon.
179 years and counting
Don’t forget that, if you’re so inclined, the Kenyon Presbyterian Church in Dunvegan will be holding its annual Christmas Eve service from 7:00 to 8:00 PM. They’ve been doing it for almost 180 years, so they obviously must be getting pretty good at it. If we get lucky and a few gentle flakes of snow descend from on high, it can be a magical night… especially if you live within strolling distance. And, if you don’t, there’s plenty of free parking. There will be carols and hymns to sing and special readings to listen to… plus special musical performances to enjoy, the details of which I am not privy. All are welcome to join Kenyon congregation on December 24th as they celebrate the birth of their saviour, Jesus Christ.
Jingle cards, jingle cards…
As I mentioned earlier, this coming Friday, December 20th, the Dunvegan Recreation Association will be hosting a Christmas-flavoured euchre luncheon. So, if you enjoy pleasant conversation, a friendly game of cards, a bowl of hearty soup (cream of potato with bacon, this month), an assortment of sandwiches and delicious holiday sweets, please join us in good cheer. The luncheon is served at 12 PM followed by cards and door prize draws until around 3:30. Admission is only $5.00 and even includes a post-game snack.
Linda Burgess and I look forward to seeing all our regulars… and hopefully a few newcomers… so we can wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. We hope you’ll be able to come out.
PS: Because of the difficulty of winter travel, this will be our last Euchre Luncheon for a couple of months. We’ll be off for at least January, February and perhaps March, depending on the weather.
Dunvegan’s Secret Santa
Well not really so secret. Her name is Claudette Bedard-Paquette and she lives at the east end of the hamlet. You may have run into her at one of the many Christmas Craft Fairs in the area; she’s our local Avon representative. Claudette called me the other evening to ask if I knew of any families that might welcome a little help with putting gifts under their Christmas tree. Her husband, Remi, bids on the contents of storage lockers and she has been putting aside items like Mickey Mouse apparel, fleece blankets, beauty products and other items to donate to needy households. She had hoped to participate in Maxville Home Hardware’s wonderful “Angel Tree” program, but missed the date. If you know of a family in the Dunvegan/ Greenfield area who might be interested taking Claudette up on her offer, please have them contact her at 613-527-1461.
That’s a really fresh turkey
Every once in a while, I like to take a peek in the wayback machine. So Bluetooth keyboard in hand, I reached out to Ken McEwen of Ottawa. As regular readers will know, Ken and his wife Chris grew up in the area. I asked for Ken’s recollections of Christmas time on the 7th of Kenyon, back in the day. Here’s his reply:
“We had no immediate relatives nearby and normally had dinner with our own family. Before turkeys came into vogue, we would kill a rooster that had been raised with the hens we always had. The first contribution I made to farm work was collecting eggs with my mother. It was a strange sensation reaching under a nesting hen to snare an egg. We crated the eggs and, in the era before egg grading stations, bartered them for groceries at the general stores in Maxville. My mother always wore an apron, and it became the receptacle in which eggs were carried from the hen house to the kitchen. At a later point in time, we raised one turkey, which became the festive bird. My bother was designated executioner. My role was to grip the bird by the wings and hold it steady while the deed was done. No question about picking it out of a supermarket bin and wondering where or by whom it was raised.
Probably more anticipated than Christmas dinner was the school’s Christmas concert. Held in the afternoon or evening immediately before Christmas and attended by parents who filled the school, it featured recitations, singing (solo or in chorus) and plays. It was the highlight of the school year… excepting the breakout at the end of June for the summer holidays, with two months of uninterrupted bliss.
In the St. Elmo area, my school together with the St. Elmo East School, the MacDonald’s Grove School west of St. Elmo and the Athol School north of us all sent the best performers from their concerts to a joint Christmas concert in the old log hall at St. Elmo. I remember performing a duet with Mary McDonald (School day, school days) on a very cold night when I was in Grade 7 or 8. To play the part, I wore overalls and was barefoot. Gwen Cleary (later Mrs. Gwen Morris) was our teacher. She put my wool sweater on the floor to keep my feet from freezing. The audience arrived by horse and sleigh… and the horses were tied to the fence posts out front. Sorry not much trivia about other aspects of Christmas day, but the school concerts, in a distant and very different world, were the district’s apex of the year.”
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