To the Editor:
When my wife and I moved from Abbotsford to Hedley a year ago, our friends couldn’t comprehend our reasons for turning our backs on the amenities and glitter of city life. Living in a small community with no fitness centre, bank, doctor, pharmacy or supermarket, was to them like leaving the known world.
Moving to Hedley has made us aware of another way of living. Instead of depending only on government agencies, people are more likely to help each other. When a cancer patient needed financial assistance to travel to a specialist in Vancouver, there was a contribution box in the Country Market. There seems to be an understanding that to survive, we need to join hands with individuals in need.
On the second Sunday of each month the Senior’s Center invites the community to a breakfast of pancakes, eggs and sausages or bacon. At $5 a plate it’s a delicious bargain and it draws the community together. The Community Club’s annual summer Street Dance, featuring a talented live band and barbeque, provides enjoyable entertainment and great food.
In October the Hedley Museum Society sponsors a lavish Thanksgiving dinner. Twice each year, the Hedley Grace Church organizes a bottle drive to send children to camp. People contribute cans and bottles throughout the year.
To this time we have not missed the congestion, pollution or noise of the city we lived in for many years. We love the abundant sunshine, enjoy the people and appreciate the clean air in the Similkameen Valley. The amenities of the city cannot compare.
Art Martens, Hedley