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REMEMBER THIS: Help always available around the holidays

Though Christmas Cheer in its current form dates back to 1970s, help was still available to those who needed it before the program began

The beloved and well-organized Christmas Cheer campaign of today was born in the 1970s.

Christmas Cheer found its first home within the CKBB radio station. When the organization found itself growing, moves were made to larger facilities, including the Army Navy Air Force building, the Barrie Armouries, Barrie Event Centre and lastly, the former Tambrands building on St. Vincent Street at Bell Farm Road.

One hundred years before this present charitable entity existed, Barrie citizens in need of some help at Christmas were served by the St. George’s Society.

Still in existence today, the St. George’s Society of Toronto was originally formed in 1834 to assist new English and Welsh immigrants to Canada.

By 1876, a branch of the St. George’s Society had established itself here in Barrie. Over the years, the fraternal group here and elsewhere altered its original mission to include anyone in the community who was suffering hardship.

In this town, the St. George’s Society regularly donated grocery items to Royal Victoria Hospital, the Ardagh Memorial Home and to the Children’s Shelter. They were also known to purchase train tickets for vagrants, newly released prisoners or anyone stranded far from home.

In the last years of the nineteenth century, it was the St. George’s Society who appealed for donations and organized Christmas hampers for the less fortunate of Barrie.

“It was resolved that the heartfelt thanks of this Society be extended to all and any who, by money or produce, so nobly responded to the Christmas appeal of this Society. It was possible to provide a good Christmas and New Year’s dinner to fifty-six families irrespective of their nationality or creed.” — Northern Advance, Jan. 26, 1899.

The annual December appeal, organized by the St. George’s Society, came to be known as the Christmas Cheer fund by 1911.

In 1915, a new service club was formed in Detroit, Mich. It quickly gained popularity and a local branch of the Kiwanis Club organized in Barrie in 1922.

The Kiwanians work to serve the community wherever they go and have a particular focus on the needs of children. In the 1920s, the local branch looked after the gathering and distribution of clothes, toys, candies, and nuts to the children of the Barrie area.

In 1925, the Victorian Order of Nurses took over the Christmas campaign duties of the St. George’s Society. In the years following, the V.O.N., Kiwanis Club, various churches, and other groups, all worked together under the umbrella of the Christmas Cheer Committee.

Seventy-four hampers were distributed in 1926. In an ad in the Northern Advance, the committee thanked the community at large for the generous donations of “money, coal, wood, meat, flour, chickens, milk and groceries” received.

The Great Depression brought a lot of hardship to Barrie during the 1930s. Jobs were lost and salaries cut. The need at Christmastime rose dramatically but so did the desire to be of help.

By 1939, there were so many aid groups in town, each filled with good-hearted citizens, that the Christmas Cheer Committee was more or less put out of business. That year, they elected to step back and act as a clearing house and as a back up if any families in need had been overlooked.

In 1974, organized Christmas food and gift support had come full circle in Barrie, a century after the St. George’s Society had spearheaded similar work.

Paul Arbour, publicity chairman of the Barrie and District Christmas Cheer Organization in 1976, described to the Barrie Examiner who and what they were.

“The Barrie and District Christmas Cheer Organization is non-profit, non-denominational, non-political group of interested citizens who band together every year to raise food and toys for needy families at Christmas," he said. 

Mr. Arbour added: “There were several groups collecting for the needy, but a few years ago all efforts were gathered into one to prevent duplication.” The good work continues.

Each week, the Barrie Historical Archive provides BarrieToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past. This unique column features photos and stories from years gone by and is sure to appeal to the historian in each of us


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Mary Harris

About the Author: Mary Harris

Mary Harris is the Director of History and Research at the Barrie Historical Archive. The Barrie Historical Archive is a free, online archive that centralizes Barrie's historical content.
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