A memorable and special Christmas

Christmas of 1953 was, for me, a lesson in sharing and caring. It was during the Great Depression that my parents moved from Wyoming to Bonner County in 1936. There were friends who joined them in their exodus; among them the family of Carrie and Irl Brown, their son, George, and nephew Ken Hinchley.

Sometime between 1936 and 1953, Ken developed a crippling disease. This prevented him from providing for his own needs, and his other family members had moved to Westport, Wash., looking for better work opportunities. And so, Ken had no family to help him. My dad said he lived at the “Poor Farm,” and he wanted to include him in our Christmas that year.

I remember that I wasn’t looking forward to including him. I was 11 that year. I may have thought that I knew a lot; but as it turned out, I was about to learn a valuable lesson of life; one that I will never forget, and a lesson that has been with me ever since, more than 70 years.