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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 2019)
OPINION/NEWS B6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019 COLUMN The holidays aren’t happy for everyone By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR When I was in college, I stopped liking Thanksgiving. Growing up, the holiday rep- resented time off school to spend with my family. We watched the Macy’s parade, played our annual game of Monopoly and pigged out on a delicious spread of turkey, mashed potatoes and homemade rolls. After pie, we could offi cially start decorating for Christmas. When I chose to go to col- lege hundreds of miles away, things changed. Plane tickets were expensive and I didn’t own a car, not to mention the roads between Utah and Oregon can be pretty sketchy in late November. So I stayed at school. It was always my most home- sick week of the year. The fi rst year, my aunt and uncle were visiting cousins who lived in town, and they graciously adopted me for the long weekend, but it was still diffi cult knowing that my parents and all of my sib- lings were together, celebrating our fi rst major holiday apart. The next year I didn’t even have extended family in town, and I spent the break from classes on duty as a resident assistant in the mostly-empty freshman dorms. Since then I’ve come to enjoy Thanksgiving again, but my time in college has helped me remem- ber that for some people, the holi- days are not a joyous time of year. Some are temporarily sepa- rated from their loved ones by college, incarceration or military deployments. For others, the hol- idays make a lack of family pain- fully obvious. Some cry over the Christmas presents they wish they could give their children but have no money for. Others are sur- rounded by family but feel dead inside as they grapple with grief, postpartum depression, abuse or physical pain. Members of our commu- nity have stepped up to help peo- ple who struggle during the holi- day season, from delivering gifts through Christmas Express to offering free community fellow- ship meals on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Instead of arguing over whether to wish each other a “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” this year, let’s all put that effort into actions that help make either sentiment true. If you’re blessed with peo- ple to share a holiday meal with, look around your church congre- gation or workplace to see who might be grateful for an invita- tion to join you. Think outside the box — you might be traveling on the actual holiday but maybe you know someone living alone who would enjoy the opportunity to help bake Christmas cookies or go see a concert. If you’re blessed with enough money for an abundance of gifts for family members, budget to buy items to donate to a local giv- ing tree or a program like Good Shepherd Health Care System’s 12 Days of Giving. If you’re blessed with a family to create holiday traditions with, consider traditions that spread happiness outside your family, such as delivering plates of good- ies to neighbors or caroling at a nursing home. If you’re blessed with friends, ask for their address and send them a handwritten Christmas card, or even just a nice text mes- sage telling them how much they mean to you. And if the holidays are a really hard time of year for you, take care of yourself. Don’t be too proud to accept an invitation or gift that will help. Know when to say “no” or “not this year,” even if it means going against tradition. Volunteer. Treat yourself. Exer- cise. Get some sun. Work extra shifts to keep yourself occupied. If spending the holidays visiting family actually makes you feel worse, not better, tell them you’re not going to be able to make it this year. Only you know what will be best for your own mental health this time of year. Here’s to a happy ... whatever it is you’re doing this time of year. Historical society launches new heirloom-quality book HERMISTON HERALD A new hardcover picto- rial history book, published by the East Oregonian in cooperation with several local partners, is being offi - cially released this weekend. The Umatilla County Historical Society will host a book launch for “Uma- tilla County Memories: A Pictorial History of the mid- 1800s through 1939.” The free event is Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Heritage Station Museum, 108 S.W. Frazer Ave., Pendleton. “This book is beauti- fully put together and I’m so honored to have been a part of the project,” said Kari Brooks, executive director of Umatilla County Histor- ical Society. “The release date is so perfect to pick up as many copies as you need for Christmas gifts.” The heirloom-quality coffee table style book fea- tures a glimpse of Umatilla County from the 1800s to 1939 through stunning his- toric photos — many of them never before published. The book features historic photos from the Umatilla County Historical Soci- ety, Athena Public Library, city of Echo, Milton-Free- water Area Historical Soci- ety, Pendleton Round-Up, Tamástslikt Cultural Insti- tute, as well as from local newspaper readers. Copies of the limited edi- tion book will be available in the Heritage Station gift shop the day of the launch. The 10% off November Sale in the museum gift shop gives members an additional 10% off through Nov. 30. For more information, call 541-276-0012 or visit www. heritagestationmuseum.org. Courtesy Milton-Freewater Area Historical Society Automobiles in front of the Milton Garage, circa 1915. A book launch for “Umatilla County Memories: A Pictorial History of the mid-1800s through 1939” is Saturday at Heritage Station Museum in Pendleton. Holiday savings so good, you’ll jump for JOY The perfect holiday gift is available now! BOOK DETAILS: Hardcover, 144 pages • Historic photos of Umatilla County Limited time offer — discount expires Dec. 31, 2019! $34.95 reg. $44.95 plus shipping DOWNLOAD OUR FREE NEWS APP TODAY! Our new app offers access to the latest news as it happens with customizable features for mobile and tablet devices: • Scroll through the latest headlines while on-the-go. • Personalize your news feed with the stories you want. • Receive breaking news alerts on your phone. • Explore photos, videos and more. • Easily save articles for Just released! Pick up your books locally, including pre-orders • Share articles with the tap of a finger. East Oregonian 211 SE Byers Ave., Pendleton (Mon.–Fri., 8 a.m.–5 p.m.) • Content can be viewed offline when out-of-service or in flight. Order online and save with flat-rate shipping Umatilla.PictorialBook.com • Customizable settings allow you to Expedited shipping available for Christmas delivery enlarge type and choose how often Order by mail now (discount expires 12/31/19): Postmark by 12/5/19 for Christmas delivery Ship my order to me: $34.95 plus $6.95 shipping and handling per book. Order will be shipped to the address below. Quantity: ___ x $41.90 = $______ total Payment method: ☐ Check/Money Order reading later. content refreshes. Credit card orders can be placed online: Umatilla.PictorialBook.com Name Address City State Phone E-mail Zip From the archives of the Athena Public Library, City of Echo, Milton-Freewater Area Historical Society, Pendleton Round-up, Tamástslikt Cultural Institute and Umatilla County Historical Society Send form and payment to: East Oregonian 211 SE Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or call 800-522-0255 To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or log on to www.hermistonherald.com/subscribe-now/
