I dearly miss my father and our Christmas traditions. Here's how I'm honoring him
Katie Gaston
The Christmas season is a time for traditions.
Holiday parties, tree decorating, gift exchanges and religious services abound during December.
The Journal Star Christmas Fund is a central Illinois tradition that dates to 1913. Over 111 years, the fund provided toys and food to thousands of local families when they needed it the most — during the Great Depression, economic downturns or simply during personal hard times.
This year, the Christmas Fund aims to raise $130,000 to provide 4,000 food boxes to needy individuals and families.
As is tradition, the newspaper prints lists of fund donors and their short reasons for giving. Many are memorials to loved ones. Some are simply names or holiday greetings. But each tells a story of generosity. “In lieu of Christmas cards …” “In loving memory of my dear husband, Larry.” “Thankful for 10 grandchildren and 2 new great-grandbabies. “Remembering the true meaning of Christmas.”
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Because much of my career was spent as a Journal Star copy editor and page designer, I’ve read thousands of these messages. It was often my job to edit the daily list and make sure it appeared in the next day’s news pages.
I am ashamed to say I’ve never written a message of my own. Until now.
This year, I’m making a donation in honor of two special people whom I dearly miss: my late father and a late Journal Star colleague and friend.
As a young child, I would sometimes sit with my dad on the steps of our East Bluff home and wait for the morning paper as the sun rose. That was our tradition. Another was his yearly recitation of “The Night Before Christmas,” as well as cutting down a fresh Christmas tree and lugging it home on top of our station wagon. Watching our VHS version of "It's a Wonderful Life" was a must.
There were lean years for our family, but I never doubted there would be food, presents and a tree shining in the corner of our living room. Not everyone in central Illinois is that fortunate.
I don't have many photos of my father. We weren't a family who took many photographs, and if we did, he was usually the one behind the camera — inevitably including his thumb in the shot.
Steve Olin — or simply Olin to those in the newsroom — was a copy editor at the Journal Star for nearly 30 years. On my first day as an intern, I was abruptly introduced to Olin’s particular work style when I wrote a shoddy headline. There were expletives involved that aren’t fit to print, but suffice to say, I learned a lesson. Colleagues can often become like family members, and such was the case with Olin. He was one of a kind (expletives and all).
My message will be a simple one. “In memory of Terry Gaston and Steve Olin.”
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Maybe you have a message of your own. Whether it’s your first time or a longstanding tradition, please join me and others in supporting the Christmas Fund this holiday season. Each donation will help provide holiday meals for those in need in our community.
This is one tradition well worth preserving.
There are two ways people can donate to the Journal Star Christmas Fund:
- Online: https://donate.salarmyncil.org/give/527409/#!/donation/checkout
- Mail checks to: Journal Star Christmas Fund, PO Box 5489, Peoria, IL 61601-5489
Katie Gaston is manager of digital and print operations at the Journal Star. She can be reached at kgaston@pjstar.com. Check out our staff page to connect with other local journalists.