We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
Guests at the Annual Hassle-Free Christmas are shown getting ready to sample the food items made by library staff and trustees. The program, designed to share decorating and ideas for simple gifts, has met annually since 1992. Food with and a chance to visit with friends and neighbors at the end of the presentations and entertainment is a big part of the event.
The Blaine County Library, in Chinook, held its Annual Hassle-Free Christmas program recently. It was the 26th year for the event that offers simple to make holiday gift ideas and decorating tips, holiday music and a Christmas-time story. At the end of the event guests are invited to try a variety of treats prepared by the library staff and library trustees. About 80 people attended the program this year.
It all started as an adult ed class by the MSU-Extension
Library Director Valerie Frank has been involved with the program for 24 of the 26-year run for the pre-holiday occurrence. In 1992, two years before Valerie joined the library staff, two MSU-Extension agents from Hill County offered a one night adult ed program in Chinook entitled "An Untangled Christmas." A bit more complicated than the current version offered each year, the original program quickly morphed toward a more streamlined approach in both content and format. Frank said, "Sometime around 1993 or 1994 the title was changed to the current "Annual Hassle-Free Christmas" and the library staff began doing the program shortly after the name change."
This year's program
Director Frank welcomed the guests. Library Trustee Patty Hall, who had invited presenters for the holiday-themed topics, introduced four Chinook High girls who are also junior leaders or seasoned members of Blaine County's 4-H program. Hall said, "I didn't determine topics for each presenter, but they independently came up with holiday decorations that all use mismatched socks in some way."
Kourtney Hanson, a junior at CHS, showed how to make a table top snowman out of a sock. Lyssa Schoen, a freshman, made snowmen tree ornaments using battery-powered tea lights (small electric candles). Erika Arnold, a senior, made a standing snowman out of a fence post and Raynee Hasler, a freshman, took the audience through the steps of making a "spectacular sock snake." Guests left with several clever ideas for dealing with those 'orphan' socks that seem to accumulate over time.
In addition to the demonstrations there was holiday music presented by the Ecumenical Echoes Bell Choir and Assistant Librarian Kelsey Harry read "Christmas Day in the Morning." The story is from a children's book written by Pearl Buck who won the Pulitzer Prize (1932) and was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in Literature (1938). Buck is best known for her adult books about Asian culture and peasant life in pre-World War II China. Illustrations from the book were projected on the wall as Kelsey Harry read the book.
After the presentations and entertainment, guests moved in to the senior center to sample the holiday fare. The table of treats was accompanied with recipes for each of the sample items. Edibles varied from cheeseburger soup, miniature scones, cheeseballs and meatballs to apple slices with caramel sauce and caramel corn. The program booklet contained recipes for the sample foods.
Door prizes were won by Elaine Hamilton, Michelene Edwards and Leta Buck (no relation to Pearl that we could determine). The Annual Hassle-Free Christmas was a great way to get into the holiday spirit and go home with some ideas for easy to make gifts and interesting holiday fare.
