Tis the season for Christmas talks! There has been a Christmas tradition in my family for 13 years. It was a tradition that was not only shared through my family but it was a tradition for all other families through Anaconda. This tradition was unlike any other. I’ll start at the very beginning. My stepfather had invested in buying a bowling alley when he was younger. He had taken on the job of owning Cedar Park Bowling Lanes in Anaconda. One year a gentleman came up to him and had asked about why he didn’t keep the bowling alley on Christmas for families that don’t have enough to do a Christmas themselves. In 2001 Bill Edwards (my step father) opened the bowling alley for Christmas Day. It was small that first year but each year it grew in size. “There was a family passing through town our first year of opening the bowling alley. The family had absolutely no place to go that night to eat dinner or even spend quality time with their family. They were told by a worker at one of the gas stations in town that we had been open for Christmas dinner, and ever since that night I knew that there was nothing in this world that could keep us from helping out our community.” –Heather Edwards

My family and the community worked so hard every year to keep this tradition going. Community members would donate money for food, clothing, gifts, and even their time on Christmas to make sure that everyone had a wonderful Christmas. The third year we had kept this going, the police union had gotten involved and wanted to donate something to the cause. They raised enough money in their union that every child that year would be getting a brand new winter coat. I was about ten years old and I remember there was about five or six coat racks lined up all along the walls of the alley and they were filled with big puffy coats. It was outstanding to see what a little donating could do for the whole community. Each year it had gotten bigger and more complicated with the amount of people and children attending, but my parents never lost hope, and on the day of Christmas everything turned out exactly how it was supposed to.

At first it was so hard on my brother, my parents, and myself. My brother and I were constantly mad at my parents when we were younger. We didn’t mind being there and helping, but we were selfish enough to think that we never got the Christmas we wanted. We were never able to wake up in the morning and open gifts while our parents made coffee and watched as our smiles lit the house. We spent our Christmas Day down at our family business, we passed out goody bags to all the children, we would help serve turkey and pie to every family that couldn’t afford it, we called every single child in that bowling alley to come up and receive their gifts from Santa himself. In reality, my brother and me did get to spend Christmas with our family opening gifts on Christmas Day. Our family had just gotten a little bigger and it was spent at our home away from home. Growing up and watching what my family and the community did for all those that couldn’t afford it made Christmas what it was. It was my favorite holiday. It will always be a lost tradition that we wish could have lasted.

I recently had asked Bill why he did it for all those years and he responded with this “We did it for our community. There was nothing better than seeing the smiles on those kid’s faces”.

In the year 2013, which was our last year to open the bowling alley on Christmas, we were forced to end the annual tradition. We weren’t forced by anyone to stop it; the broken hearts that were shattered that year forced us that it was time. Our family also couldn’t handle the amount of people coming in. It had gotten so big and so hard to handle with only two people coordinating everything. My parents were starting to get calls from families out of town. We surely wouldn’t have minded helping other families but the whole objective to the Christmas Day party was to help those in our own community. It was starting to be too much on everyone and the family decided that it was time to just put the tradition away.

Christmas to me now is very different. It’s definitely not the same as it was and when I get the chance I am always helping people in need around the holidays because that feeling is something that you can’t ever describe, but it’s a feeling that leaves you wanting more.