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/