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Friday, December 16, 2016 3 Brooklin Town Crier Santa's North Pole Liaisons Keep the Spirit Alive By Brad McIlwain There is a magical mailbox in Brooklin. Built by library staff and kept open from the first week of November until the tree lighting ceremony, it remains a symbol of a bygone time. For more than 30 years, it has connected children from Brooklin, Ashburn, and Myrtle to the Christmas spirit with handwritten letters to the jolly man in the red suit. His address? Santa Claus, North Pole. With special help from his North Pole Liaisons at Group 74, Santa has been able to answer hundreds of wishes in personal, letters handwritten in red ink and enclosed in glistening red envelopes. "I know how much my kids enjoyed it," says Yvonne Eglinski, a North Pole Liaison since the 1980s. "It was a fun time. When volunteers dropped them (letters) off, I made sure everyone had instructions. Santa always said he would do his best to make their wishes come true." When the program started, Brooklin was still a small community with a population of 1,800. Letters poured in from school kids attending Meadowcrest Public and St. Leo's. "It was a much smaller group of letters," Eglinski says. "In the beginning, maybe 60-80 letters to Santa were received each year. It enabled us to personalize the them." A 17 cent stamp Letters could be mailed with a 17-cent stamp at the Brooklin post office, or deposited in a special mailbox in either the children's section in the library or at the community centre during Group 74's Old Tyme Christmas celebration held on the second Sunday of December. The Old Tyme Christmas tradition began in 1974 when Whitby Town Council gave Group 74 an official Christmas tree. That December 22, 200 people turned up at Grass Park to celebrate and sing carols around the tree. Norm Williams, choir leader from Brooklin United Church, led the caroling. During the 5th annual Old Tyme Christmas in 1979, children were given wagon rides to the Community Centre by the Brooklin Kinsmen. "That's where the action happened," remembers Gloria Jackson, an original North Pole Liaison. "We would have hot chocolate, apple cider and cookies. Everybody loved it." The Group 74 ladies dressed in pioneer clothing to represent Christmas as it was in the 19th century. The kids dropped off their letters and were treated to a visit from Santa. "Parents thought the letters that were coming to the kids were fantastic," says Jackson. The Liaisons would meet at other helper houses or at the United Church, accompa- nied by music from the church organist. It was all made sweeter by the fact they often knew the children. "We made sure brothers and sisters' letters were sorted. Santa could really personalize them. We would drink tea and read parts of the letters we thought were cute," Eglinski says. "It was a time of fellowship with all the girls who did it," agrees Jackson. "It was fun." At one time, as many as 15 women helped Santa as his official North Pole Liaisons. Extra Gifts In his letters, Santa often wrote about the two new reindeer, Twinkle and Sparkle, and how Mrs. Claus was again baking her delicious cookies for the hard-working elves. When children opened their letters, they found an extra gift of stickers tucked inside the envelopes. "Santa always said they would be surprised by the gift they received," says Jackson. The passion for the Old Tyme Christmas tradition that started in Grass Park is alive and well and has evolved into Christmas in the Village, with our annual tree lighting ceremony. "Thousands come out," says Eglinski, "Even the reindeer attend which adds a new twinkle of magic to the event. There were several times when we have had reindeer come out. When a kid can see a reindeer, they know it's not a myth." With the community growing, Santa Claus recently wrote asking for more volunteers to keep the tradition going and become his next North Pole Liaisons. How do we know? His letter was in the mailbox. Holiday Driving: Let Someone Else Do It Instead of driving this holiday season, the BTC strongly recommends you stash the keys and use one of the these services. A Designated Driver service means they will drive your car back from your location for a fee, with a companion car following. Please note that, as of Jan. 2, 2017, some DD companies will not be able to operate in the city of Oshawa due to a change in its bylaws. Contact the company to learn more. #Taxi (#8294) - Mobile calls only Phone the above number. It will connect you with the closest taxi service in the area. There's a fee ranging from $1.25 to $2.50 to make the call depending on your cell carrier. Eg. Rogers/Fido = $1.75. Bell or Telus = $2.50 poundtaxi.com Bell Taxi 905-668-8888 • Belltaxi.ca Circle Taxi 905-668-6666 • circletaxi.ca City Wide Taxi 905-579-9393 (This company has an app in the Apple app store and on Google play) citywidetaxioshawa.com DD2U 905-926-7775 • dd2u.ca DD4U 905-440-4469 https://www.facebook.com/DD4UDesignatedDrivingService/ DD Angels Designated Driver Call or text at 905-626-8441. Prices start at $20 for up to 8.5 km away. They accept cash, but if you want to pay with Visa or Mastercard, there is a $5 processing fee. ddangelsdesignateddriver.ca DD Kingz Call 905-914-6703 Ask for Wally or Sheryl. ddkingz.com Keys to Us Rates start at $30 for up to 10 km distance. 1-800-439-0339 Keystous.com Taxi Taxi 905-571-1234 taxi-taxi.ca Uber If you haven't heard of Uber, well, it'll take too long to explain. For rates, visit: http://uber-rates-whitby-on-ca.uber-fare-estimator.com/ The Brooklin Town Crier does not endorse any particular company or type of service.