Question of the Week: What is Your Favorite Christmas Memory?

By Tom Peterson

Welcome to Question of the Week, a weekly news column that poses timely questions about life, politics, culture, economics, health, and more to people out and about in our communities.  Each column features a new question that expresses curiosity about other people’s experiences and deepens our understanding of our communities and of people from all walks of life.

This week’s question of the week turns out to be a nostalgic look back at moments and experiences of true joy. And the answers were so varied and interesting it made us proud of the people in our community.

Question of the Week: What is your favorite Chrismas Memory?

Vickie Young, 62, The Dalles 

“I must have been 9- or 10-years-old and we were coming back from church in Hermiston on Christmas eve,” she said. “I looked out the car window and saw Santa Claus walking through a driveway and he had a big bag. I was convinced it was him. It was Santa Claus. He was dressed right and had the physique. I said, ‘look, Santa! Look, look.’ By the time my parents and brother looked, he was gone. I saw him. It was a magical experience.”

For the record, I think Vickie still believes and she will be rewarded handsomely on Dec. 25. 

Alex Cruz , 24, The Dalles 

“My best memory was two years ago when I got to see my son Able and daughter Myah,” he said. “It was the first Christmas with both of my kids. I haven’t seen them since then.”

June Oliver and daughter Hanna Oliver Williams, The Dalles

“It has to be Christmas Tree hunting at Billy Bob (Snow Park near Dufur),” said June. “We go out and have chili and hot dogs. We’ve been doing it for the past 10 years. We hang out in the warming hut.”

Nora a year ago.

Are the trees skinny? 

“Their perfect,” June said. 

“We had Nora on the sled” said Hannah of her daughter Nora, age 1.

Hannah said she would be missing her husband Chris this year. He is a Sgt. in the Army Reserves and he is currently in Texas. He deploys to Kuwait next week.

“It’s ok,” Hannah said. “She keeps me pretty busy,” she said, and explained that Nora can be pretty quick on her feet.

Amando Velador, 63, The Dalles

“We didn’t have Christmas,” he said. “I grew up in a little village in Zacatecas, Mexico. There was no electricity. There was not anything. We only had one teacher, and it only went to third grade or so.  When I was 15 years old we went to Mexico City, and we saw they were shooting fireworks and had candy. We brought that back to our village and started doing it (celebrating Christmas). We had pinatas and candy and drinks for the grownups. They celebrate it there now and they have more teachers.”

Aaron Jallen, 30, High Prairie

“We would always get to see the grandparents. It was like Thanksgiving but better. Everybody was together and stuffing our faces. We usually got a bunch of candy as a kid. My grandparents always gave us oranges, pistachios and peanuts. Sometimes I would crack out all the pistachios and eat them all at once. But it was better to eat them one at a time. I hate oranges.”

Lori Nelson, The Dalles

“I was born in the Christmas Flood of ‘64,” she said. “My parents had a hard time getting into town. The bridges were washing out.”

Did everything turn out alright?

“I’m still here,” she said. “I was born at The Dalles General Hospital. My dad is Don Holste and my mom is Bev Snodgrass. I’m the best Christmas present my mom ever had. My two older sisters were not thrilled that Mom was not home for Christmas. How old am I? I was born on Christmas of ‘64; you can figure it out.”

Henry Pokini, 35, The Dalles 

“As a kid, growin up we were pretty poor,” he said. “To get some new shoes, I was pretty stoked. When I was 11, my grandma bought a hardback copy of a Joe Montana biography. She put it in a 4-foot by 3-foot box and stuffed it with enough shipping padding to kill a horse. I made a million guesses about what it was when I was tearing that box apart. None were better than that book. I was a huge ‘Niners fan. There was nothing better than that Montana biography.”

Mary Burnham, 45, Hood River

“When I was 8, I lived in Steamboat Springs, Colorado,” she said. “Our family, my brother and I got together with our family friends. We got a hold of the neighbors horses and we had a sled. It was Christmas Eve and we took a big hike into the forest. We had hot chocolate and cut a tree down. The horses pulled us on the sled and they helped pull the tree home. That was the best hot chocolate.”