A4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 24, 2003 STANDARD ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 PUBLISHER: ROD LINK ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. *® V8G 5R2 TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 » FAX: (250) 638-8432 WEB: www.terracestandard.com EMAIL: newsroom@terracestandard.com ‘Tis the season FROM LIGHTS glistening off of new-fallen snow, to craft fairs to earnest young voices in school concerts, Christmas is a special time. There’s a certain collective experience under- way, drawing people together in a common cause of shared happiness. It masks, albeit tem- porarily, the terrible sequence of economic events which have befallen the northwest begin- ning in January 1997 when Skeena Cellulose first sought bankruptcy protection, Since then people have lost jobs, families have been separated as breadwinners have left to find work and businesses have closed. Food banks have become standard issue in the fabric of the northwest and innumerable efforts have arisen to assist those less fortunate. But as dark as things have become, there is always hope. Hope fuels the human spirit, providing the uplift to carry on and is shown in the outpouring of charitable acts this time of year. For those who gave and for those who re- ceived, a Merry Christmas. The words of Tommy Douglas, a former Baptist minister, former premier of Saskatche- wan and former leader of the federal New De- mocratic Party say it best: “Tf Christmas means anything, it should mean that, like the shepherds of old, we catch a vision of the world as it ought to be and not as it is. This is the season when we should renew our determination to do what we can, each in our own way, to build a world founded on human brotherhood and cencern for the needs of others.” Hubert Beyer SINCE IT started publishing in 1988, the edi- torial page of The Terrace Standard has con- tained the words of Hubert Beyer. It is with re- gret and sadness to report that he died Dec. 13 after suffering a heart attack. He was 68. Based in Victoria, Mr. Beyer wrote a column published in weekly newspapers across British Columbia for more than 20 years. . As with most journalists, Mr. Beyer had a healthy skepticism of politicians. He loved poli- tics. But he took solid aim at those who abused their political power, something which he ex- pressed week after week. Born in Germany and arriving in Canada in 1957, Mr. Beyer had a great admiration for his adopted country, saying often it was the best place in the world in which to live. One of Mr. Beyer’s traditions was to write a Christmas column based on his experiences as a child toward the end of the Second World War and afterward, We’re reprinting the column he wrote in December 2001. It appears on this page. PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS: Jeff Nagel NEWS/SPORTS Sarah A. Zimmerman NEWS/COMMUNITY: Jennifer Lang 2002 WINNER . =————__————— FRONT OFFICE: Darlene Keeping & Carol McKay CCNA BETTER cincuLaTiON SUPERVISOR: Tammy Donovan NEWSPAPERS COMPETITION ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Bert Husband & Debbie Simons COMPOSING: Susan Credgeur AD ASSISTANT: Sandra Stefanik SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: $57.94 (+$4.06 GST)=62.00 per year: Seniors $50.98 (+$3.57 GST)=54,55; Out of Province $65.17 (+$4.56 GST)=69.73 Outside of Canada (6 months) $156.91(+10.98 GST)=167,89 : MEMBER OF . B.C. AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, c CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION O CN A AND ‘COMMUNITY News arins B.C. PRESS COUNCIL (www.bepresscouncll.org) =a Beaeeh Cotpmtry and Paton Sorving tha Terrace and Thomhill area, Published on Wednesday of each weak at $216 Clinton Streat, Terrace. British Columbia, V8G SA2. Stories, photographs, illustrations, designs and typestyles in the Terrace Standard are the property of the copy- right holders, including Cariboo Press (1969) Lid.. ils illustration repro services and advertising agencies. Reproduction in whole or in part, without written permission, is specifically prohibited. Authorized as secand-class mail pending the Post Olfice Dapartment, for payment ol postage in cash. Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents . _ for their time and talents You WILL Not GET AWAY WITH FLOODING OUR COUNTRY WITH SWEATSHOP IMPORTS. THE u.S. OF A WILL NOT STAND FoR UNFAIR TRADE PRACTISES THAT COMPROMISE ay ONOKY 4 AMERICAN a OfRick os BUSINESSES | BELIEVE SOME PUNITIVE ANTIDUMPING TARIFFS ARE IN ORDER HERE. Memories of a war time Christmas VICTORIA — Christmas is about childhood memories. And the older you get, the more vivid the memories become. When you"re my age, 66, white hair and white beard, often looked at with wide eyes by children, especially around Christmas time, suspecting that you just might be Santa Claus, your memories include those of your own and your children’s childhood. bs From the time of adulthood, | a I remember the first Christmas FROM THE CAPITAL) that included my wife and cur " first-born. We were so damned HUBERT BEYER destitute, the only present under the tree that year was our baby, then three weeks old. Ah, but what a present it was. Twelve months earlier, we were two young, carefree kids in love, without a hint of what parenthood having hit the market. These babies played all three speeds, albeit tinny, In today’s money those record players cos! about $300. And stereo was a long meant, Suddenly, we . were _ time off. responsible fora human being we of course, when I was a kid, I had created, had not heard of record players, With each —_ succeeding. At age Seven, ny biggest wish: child, four in ally: our~fortunes"was.a-sled, improved. By child number two, we were already way ahead of what I remember from my own childhood, in financial terms, . that is, There was the Christmas when we bought each of our children a record player. It was the time of 45s with 78s on the way out and LPs just -three years. My home town, Dusseldorf, was being ravaged by almost nightly. air raids and Mother and I were evacuated to a beautiful small village on the River Main, called Stadtprazelten. Dad was stationed in Norway. That Christmas, dad got furlough. My father was home ~The war had been’ raging for . for Christinas. On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, the town put on a special da for the evacuees. Tt wasn’t really a Christmas celebration, because the Nazis tried to drum any religious connotation of the special day out of us. ; - The event, held in countless towns across Germany during the war, was referred to as Volksweihnacht, something like “peoples’ yuletide.” There was a band, which played a lot of songs about snow and presents and stars, but avoided words like Jesus or Christ or God like the plague, To the dismay of the focal Nazis in full regalia, the people suddenly began singing Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht (Silent Night, Holly Night). The hall reverberated to the voices of hundreds of people who had had their ‘fill of Volksweihnacht and © Tannenbaum. vo Still, Nazi celebration ar not, there were presents for.the kids. Like I said earlier, I wanted nothing more than a sled. Snow -.was aplenty in the Stadtprozelten winters, At the beginning, there were about a dozen sleds, When the last one had been given to a lucky kid, I was still sted-less, As children are known to do, I cried. Mom and dad tried to console me, saying there might be an even better present at home later on. It didn’t help, I cried so hard that someone managed to find a sled somewhere. I went home happy. I had the sled [ had wished for so hard. Later that evening, we celebrated Christmas in the traditional fashion. We sang real Christmas songs. My parents talked about Christmases of their childhood. And although it was not a time of lavish presents, I was happy with the few little things my parents had managed to find for me. And then dad asked me to get him something from the bedroom. I walked into the bedroom, and there was the most beautiful sled Thad ever laid eyes on. It was made of white. wood, - polished to perfection, and, would seat four kids easily, |. That night, it snowed . and snowed and snowed. And next morning, I was on the hills with my beautiful new sled. Between that sled and my dad being home, it was a Christmas not soon to be forgotten. And the other sled wasn’t without a new owner for very long. sit up straight and fix that hair NOW THAT television has reached re-run season, constructive criticism is in order for several of my favourite talk shows. Leno, Oprah and Dr. Phil. Their hosting is fine, What bothers me is their on-stage furniture, and female guests with hair hiding their faces, Despite having budgets to fly guests in from across America and to hire expensive interior decorators to design their sets, they stint on seating ‘like car manufacturers, Almost all of Leno’s guests tind their chair uncomfortable. They wriggle, worm, cross their legs, flop from one: side to the other, slide down, hoist themselves up, and still the chair doesn't fit them. Oh, for a CLAUDETTE SANDECKI someone as short as Dustin Hoffman, they could position the short chair, And for average height guests, they could stick to saddle, the chair Leno uses now. Leno should use three chairs, Guests try, many positions identical except. for varying to adjust to the awkward chair. Goldie Hawn ‘pulls up her feet and ‘sils:on- her crossed ankles like “a giggling Buddha. “Ewan heights, depending upon his guests for the evening. Before greeting a basketball player or Kiefer Sutherland, the set director could haul out ‘the tall chair. For a program with ©” ankle. : McGregor ‘sits. sideways on one ~ Dustin Hoffman. removed the . chair's thick cushion and plopped down on the platform covering the springs. Then his feet rested on the floor. The height of Leno's chair is less discomfiting than the angle. It should be pushed back and turned more toward Leno. Guests could then face forward and address Leno without. cranking their neck over their left shoulder like an owl. a I've come to expect guests to move as though doused with itching powder, So 1 appreciate those with poise who quickly choose a position and hold it. Barbara Bush, Nicole Kidman, and President Jimmy Carter all sat still, hands relaxed in their laps for the full 20 minutes of their visit, But [Il bet they had a stiff neck next day from eyes lefi throughout the interview. ° ‘How is it. neither Leno nor —his.~ staff- move — to accommodate guests? Or does the show ~ intentionally — use. a chair guaranteed io upset their equilibrium’ thinking “it ‘invigorates ‘lifeless’ interviews? ‘Perhaps a group of chiropractors are silent sponsors of the show? Dr. Phil, too, could use velcro on his chair or have it reuphalstered in-a fabric’ with grip. His chair is high to suit his height. He likes to lean against it and every few minutes raise himself up and sit, only to slide off. And each time he sits, he leans over and yanks his suitcoat out from under his hip. I wish he’d shop at a store for the handicapped and buy a suitcoat with the bettom of the back cut out for wheelchair sitting. My other pet peeve is female guests whose hair obscures their faces, Jennifer Aniston is a prime example, In a recent Oprah interview the “Friends” actor tossed her head like a Shetland dislodging a persistent horsefly and repeatedly combed one finger through her straggly locks to clear her-view, - Until Oprah reached over and held Jennifer’s hair out of her eyes while looking around for a bobbypin. How embarrassing for Jennifer and pesky for Oprah and viewers, 7 Tue RE. BUILDING A WE Must BE LOYAL BP MALU-MART OUTAT g 10 OUR OWN PEOPLE! -"S 2 P THE ICHAWAY | BOYCOTT MALL-MART ARIAN |v ie | Sst nt NGS! 2 THEARD MALL- Cit Gee A MARTIS HAVINGA CaN So ‘eae, GIANT CHAINSAW ON ARNT 8 WwW SALE NEXT MONTH ATS 5: ees a, RR OC THE SOUND oF STRONG Ss " CONMUNITY VALUES Set GREAKING DOA!