Barbara Wheeler
By Madie Murray
For several years now, Barbara Wheeler has been quietly giving what some people have said was the only Christmas gift they receive. It’s not just an ordinary present…it’s a gift of home made cookies and candies she has personally and lovingly made and packaged in special tin boxes she collected from the Exchange and other sources all year long. And it’s not just a few. She has delivered up to 70 at one time of these special gifts to the Food Bank so they may be given to Food Bank recipients during the Christmas season.
“I know these special tins of cookies and candies have brought tears to some of our recipients’ eyes,” says Joyce Shaw, Vice President of the Orcas Island Food Bank Board, “and, in some cases, it has been the only Christmas gift they receive.”
Barbara does it for the simple reason that it’s just a nice thing to do at Christmastime. Her mother set the example of giving back to others when she was growing up. But, in her words, “I’m getting a little old for this, and it would be great if someone else could make it happen next year.”
Barbara’s hoping she has created a gift that will “keep on giving” and others will carry on the Christmas cookie tin tradition long after she started the ball rolling. All you would have to do, according to Barbara, is start collecting the tins now. When December rolls around and with the help of her friends, Scott and Judy Whiting who have been helping to secure the chocolate and cookie mixes, people could get together and have a “bake fest” to fill the tins and deliver them to the Food Bank. “It would be nice to know that what I started will continue,” says Barbara.
If you would like to carry on Barbara’s Christmas cookie tin tradition for the Food Bank, contact Maggie Kaplan at 376-5372.
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