The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

In October, malls and department stores throughout the country get the season started with a flourish. The halls (I mean aisles) are decked with boughs of holly, and the campaigns to lure holiday gift shoppers are in full swing. Retailers have big sales and advertising is dominated by red and green.

I grew up in suburbia, and even all those years ago, it seemed obvious to me that the Christmas season was designed primarily as a commercial campaign to get people to buy more stuff.

But out here in the wilderness we call the Touchet Valley, Christmas has always seemed different. To me it’s m...