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"Christmas Greeting Section" To all our friends our deepest - Sa AME 574 hanks and JIS 3 OER / CN ppreciation. a 3 25 0, Have a winning (i. brs \ holiday! PINERIDGE SPORTS 985- 2839 There's One Thing We Can't Put InA Stocking... And that's a great big "THANK YOU" from us to you! A. OPPERS ALUMINUM Aubrey & Bill Oppers "0 star of wonder, star of night" As the retelling of the Christmas story fills your home with joy, please accept our thanks for the &ift of your patronage. Merry Christmas and Safe Holidays from WILLY & SONS /] WN Nancy Stuart Creig Christmas Essay Winner By Jennifer Creighton Greenbank, Ontario Memories are like going into an attic. very box is packed with treasures of events that too place along time agobut they last an eternity. Each Christmas Eve I stand outside, usually as I come home from a church service, when a memory from my childhood returns. It is the same year after year as I look at the cold dark sky that takes me back. The church on Scugog Island is packed with people all gathered eh to see the children's Christmas Concert. From where I stand up on stage there is lots of giggling from the children around me. We all wear white children's choir gowns as we wait for our choir leader to ar- range us into our anrinied places. Our leader has on a red gown different from the children's. She holds a finger to her lips as she tries to si- lence us before the curtain opens. Music sheets rustle in our hands as we try to not move around much. Each one of us is wearing a halo round our head that we have made from tinsel garland. It slides off our hair as it has been freshly washed ready for the big nigh, In the floppy armed gowns we wait. The announcers voice comes over the micro- phone welcoming the audience to "Grace Unit- ed's" annual Christmas concert. With that the curtain is pulled back by two boys that were in the choir but thought it was sissy to wear white gowns. Instead of singing, they would pull the curtains open and shut all night when the need would arise. The concert began with the choir singing a carol. The audience was asked to join in the singing of the last verse. The evening pro- gressed with a series of plays, recitations, and songs that would include the entire congrega- tion. From the old man confined to a wheel- chair that regaled us with a Christmas story right down to the youngest member of the Sun- day School who held up letters which spelled out Christmas, everyone had their part in the concert. 4 There were five members of the audience that got up and played a medley of Christmas songs on stringed instruments. Their fiddling music made each toe tap and the air was filled with merriment. Memories of the Past At the left of the stage a floodlight had been placed on top of a pole. It shone down on the stage creat- ing a yariehy of effects when the color was changed. It shone hues of yellow, green, red and blue. The blue was the loveliest color of them all. It was the end of the con- cert when the nativity scene had been re- created by the children up on stage. The blue light gave the scene an aura that was almost breathtaking. The story of the baby Jesus birth was read by a member of the church. Everyone was silent as they listened to the story they had heard many times before, but everyone tuned in to the reading as though it were their first "time. When it was over, the reader returned to his seat in silence. During that time we digest- ed the words spoken. It was at that moment while looking at the blue stage and the little children dressed up as Mary and Joseph and the others that the crowd wasedified. The cool snap of the winter air brought me back to the present day. My box of memories from the attic will have to be put back in it's place with the other boxes. But as I look at the stars that feeling remains with me. It is the feeling of what Christmas is really about. The feeling is of love that family and friends give to each other in their desire to share. Presents un- der the tree are good but the presence we give to one another lasts more. I look forward to Christmas Eve again this year when I can get edified once more. WHAT IS THAT? By Ryan McBride SON OF A GUN By Kacey Postill We value the friendships we've built with customers like you. Hope you all have a happy holiday ! THOMAS CARPENTRY Stan and Dorothy Thomas J 4 + Ty rrvreuwr Siler TTF One Christmas Day I woke up and saw a present under the tree I thought it was a barrel My eyes popped out of my head. I thought who in the world would give me a barrel? I woke up my sister and my parents and went down stairs. I opened that one first and there was a Super Mario Brothers gar- bage pail full of popcorn. Thank goodness the garbage pal was new. I would say that was the werdest present I've received in my life. Oh yah, my sister gave me the garbage pail. THE SCARIEST CHRISTMAS EVER By Jason Crosier It was Christmas '87, the scariest Christmas ever. I woke up at 6 a.m. to go down to the tree. I switched on the light and there it was, the biggest, blackest, scariest beetle I had ever seen I screamed. My brother came into my room and said "what's the matter?' 1 said '"'there's a creature on the rug." So he picked it up and flush- ed it down the toilet. I felt reliev- ed. As I was going down the hall in a happier mood, I saw another one, but this time I knew what it yas, bot THE CHRISTMAS THE DOG JUMPED ON THE TREE By Terry Ramage Last Christmas we decided we were going to get a real tree. So we went to Greenbank Garden Center. But they were closed. So we went to another place. We finally picked out a tree. When we got back to the place to pay for the tree they offered us some hot chocolate. So we had some hot chocolate. When we got home and my dad got called out. So my mom and I tried to put up the tree. It fell on .us a couple of times. When we got it all up and decorated we went to bed. In the morning the tree was down. The dog had jumped on the tree. It was not our fault it had fallen down. It was the dog's fault it fell down; she is the one who jumped on it anyway. So we put 1 tp again. Haag ey It all started one Christmas when I was 4 years old. I was the first one up examining the presents. When I went to one side of the tree...AAAA!! A gun. Iran down the hall, slammed the door of my room and stood shaking in a corner. But did you know that the thing I thought was a gun was nothing but a bird house? A few moments latter my dad calmed me down. You know what? I don't think I will ever examine the presents again! THE CRAZY CHRISTMAS By Katie Martin It all started last Christmas when it happened. We were in bed sleeping, and then it started Scar- dy, the cat, woke up from sleep- ing and went into the living room and sat looking at the Christmas tree. Slowly he walked closer and closer to the Christmas tree and then Toby, our dog came out of my room and into the living room and Scardy was lying in front of the Christmas tree. Toby walked up to Scardy and started to growl at him and it scared Scardy so much that Scardy ran under the Christmas tree and swatted at Toby. Toby, £34 into my room and lay down beside me. Seardy was still under the Christmas tree try- ing to get out. You know what happened then. He knocked off several ornaments from the Chirstmas trge,