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Family gatherings atop Christmas lists

The Christmas season has come and gone. It was white and it was cold, but a warming trend had hit by New Year’s Day.

The Christmas season has come and gone. It was white and it was cold, but a warming trend had hit by New Year’s Day.

This a summary of some of the Christmas happenings:

Dick and Ann Creasey headed south to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic for 10 hot days, after sharing a Christmas Eve brunch with daughters Cindy and Steve and with Amber and Chris and friends; Mike Neilson came from Burnaby, B.C., to spend the holidays with his mom Anne and his brother Bert, Cindy and family; Also visiting from Vancouver were Kim and Daryl Mackie, Taylor and Drew, as well as Kandice and Scott Morrison and Forbes, who spend their holiday at Deere Valley Farms with the Johnsons; Les and Cathy Kneeland travelled a lot over Christmas, visiting with Deanna and Keith in Calgary, Trevor in Edmonton, meeting up with the Michelsen family in Lacombe and the Kneeland family in Red Deer; Greg and Laura Kent from Fort Nelson were down and the Kent family gathered with Bob and Melinda and family on Christmas Day, and then were among the 38 members of the Adair family who met in Rosalind on Dec. 30; Paul and Jacqui Dietrich spent the Christmas holidays in Calgary with their family;  Terry and Peggy Vockeroth enjoyed a visit with son Scott, Emily and their daughter Annika in Fairbanks; Lana and Ben Chitwood and family from Saskatchewan were visitors with Lisa and Rick Kent and with the Walkers in Big Valley; A large group of the Chick family gathered at the Troy Slemp home in Castor for an early Christmas; Derek and Heidi Malloy were pleased that Derek’s mom from Montreal came to spend an extended holiday with their family.

JD and Sandra Johnson and girls were among the crowd at Churchill Square in Edmonton for the countdown to the new year. Others attended house parties and some couples celebrated at the Camrose and Red Deer casinos.

Sympathy goes out to the family of Gene Derr, who passed away Dec. 23 in Red Deer. A memorial tea was held at the Stettler Legion on Saturday.

A funeral service was held Saturday for Ruby Green, wife of Glen Wason and sister-in-law to Louise Strandquist. Sympathy is extended to the family.

Condolences from our community is extended to the family of well-known Second World War veteran Jack Chapman, who passed away on New Year’s Day.

Get-well wishes are sent out  to Wendy (Fletcher) Berry, who is recuperating from surgery in Edmonton.

Flu season has hit the area early this year and several residents are suffering from some nasty colds.

The first bingo of the new year is this Thursday at 7:30 in the hall. Come on out and bring a friend.

The Halkirk Elks have set Feb. 9 as the date for their Alaskan seafood and comedy night. Mark this on your calendar, as there was a sell-out crowd last year and it’s proving to be a popular fundraiser. Tickets are available at the Snack Shack in Halkirk, as well as the drug store in Castor and Wells Furniture in Stettler. Silent-auction donations are welcome — contact Charles Muncy or Doreen Blumhagen for more information.

—HALKIRK HERALD