This commentary is not about Halloween. It is not about Christmas, either. It is all about our new community. It is what someone who is not a long-time resident is observing about this community after recently moving here.

Halloween. As city dwellers for many years, we were quite accustomed to annually receiving 30-40 kids at our door, some of whom came from our neighbourhood. But there were always kids we had never seen before. They would appear with a face- mask-only “costume”, say nothing, shove their giant shopping bag at us and then run away after candies were dispensed. I sometimes thought, what trick would they play if we were out of candy?

This year in Crysler we did run out of candy. And we had stocked up anticipating many trick or treaters. Our streets were full of children, some with parents standing at the road waving hello. Some kids were not even talking yet but were proudly accompanied by elaborately costumed moms and dads.

Those kids who could talk (smile) happily interacted with our questions. “Are you Spider-Man?” “Yes, but I’m the kid version. I have my own web watch. See? I’m not the adult Spider-man yet.”  “Are you a princess”? “Yes, I’m Belle, and my brother is the “Beast.” He’s with his friends, though.” While I learned a great deal about their characters, I realized they had also spent considerable time getting their costumes together. They were rightfully proud of crafting them by themselves, some with the help of parents.

We also saw kids we could not identify. But they talked to us. “Do you live in Crysler?” “Close by, my mom drove us here.” “She’s visiting our uncle and we’re going out with our cousins who live here.”

Regardless of whether we knew them or not, each kid thanked us for the candy. So polite! Shortly after we had run out of candy and turned out the lights, there was a knock at the door. Three older, resplendently costumed light-sabre bearing kids with big friendly smiles greeted us, “We know it’s getting late but are you still giving out candy?” “I’m so sorry, but we’re all out,” I said. “No problem. Thanks anyway. I hope some of your neighbours still have treats left.” And off they went. No treat…but no trick.

We see a real difference in the kids here. And it is not just observable at Halloween. Recently the kids at the local school won a school board award for their Christmas nativity scene display. All the kids in the school participated, including painting the wisemen and the star, and they used recycled material to do it. Many neighbours in the community contributed recycled material and others helped to construct the stable and make some of the characters. Others even provided animals to make the scene more realistic. A real kid-centred community effort!

Recently, my grandson came over to help us with some chores. He spent a good deal of time with his Oma, planning the garden he wanted to build next spring. “There are so many people who can’t afford food. We’re going to grow our vegetables for the poor people,” he said. Hearing this story, I could not help but think that there is something very positive coming from young people in our new community. 

There is a healthy respect for people, and communication with others. (Suspiciously we had been thinking these values were being lost in the “screen age.”) There is a keen sense of responsibility for the environment, too. Thank goodness this new generation is concerned. And there is a strong desire to help people less fortunate. 

Living here is bringing us a new sense of optimism, particularly in our younger generation. But then again, maybe it has always been this way in Crysler?

I talk a little more about rural vs urban values in a video post on MainstreetRob Village Walks.

Look for the video on Caramel Apples at https://youtu.be/_VzeX0u5WSk?si=P1GjtlLkaOEKV1yI