Roger Hollander, Fire Chief 100 Mile Fire and Rescue
“My wife and two children are the most important people in my life. Every year at Christmas, we enjoy spending as much family time as possible. This is my favourite memory during the season.”
Donna Barnett, MLA Cariboo Chilcotin
“Born in the Depression, Christmas was a time of family, friend and a small stocking with an orange and chocolate - if you were good. As the years passed, our families worked hard. Christmas and Santa would come. My happiest memories was finding the gifts Santa had left - an orange, chocolate and a doll.”
Margo Wagner, Chair - Cariboo Regional District
“My favourite memory is our first Christmas in British Columbia. My husband didn’t have enough time off to go back to Alberta to spend it with our adult kids and I was dreading not being able to see them over the holidays, as we have always spent them together. We never ask the kids to come for Christmas because it is a 10 hours drive on good roads during the summer and a long, treacherous one in the winter. Brian and I were having coffee on Christmas Day when a vehicle came up the driveway and it was our kids surprise us. That made our Christmas one we will never forget.”
Staff Sgt. Svend Nielsen, 100 Mile RCMP
“It’s fairly normal to receive calls over the holidays and Christmas 2015 was no exception. I was working in Vanderhoof and Fort St. James at the time. I was called out to assist with a fairly serious assault file around 11:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve. By the time I got home on Christmas Day, it was just after 2 p.m. The family, including my wife, kids and parents had waited for me. They made me breakfast and had me rest for a couple of hours to rejuvenate. Once I woke up, we opened gifts, had dinner and celebrated together as a family. Imagine being an 11-year-old and having to wait for your dad to celebrate Christmas. That is what Christmas is about - not the presents but spending time, together. Merry Christmas.”
Helen Henderson, Canim Lake Band Chief
“Times were tough and people didn’t have a lot. As a gift to one another, we would exchange ingredients for baking. We would be happy to receive sugar or salt or whatever we would need to bake. We were grateful. We also spent more time visiting one another. People would spend time dancing at each others’ house to bring holiday cheer - life was simpler. We didn’t have gifts as we have now. People used the time to connect with everyone. Our elders always spoke of the hardships and scarcity of resources during the toughest times of the year like winter, but also of how folks survived by being connected. Me7 Kweselktenews- we are all related and interconnected. Le7es ke7 swe7ec ne xyum Te sitq ell ts7ecwes re tsitlem Te swuct- wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a joyous New Year.”