Singing Christmas cheer
By Michael Johnson, Editor
Christmas just isn’t Christmas until the joy of giving has been experienced in full for many of Washburn’s fine singers. The caroling crowd that gathers every year looks forward to the night when they get to share the gift of song to those who had a recent hardship. For over 25 years a group of women have been baking and singing their ways into the lives of hundreds in the community. Brenda Ankenbauer is one of those women who started to gather with others to form a cookie exchange. That cookie exchange changed into a caroling crowd that delivered baked goods to those that experienced a recent hardship. “We were not as good bakers as carolers,” Ankenbauer said. This year, a group of about 25 carolers gathered on Sunday and loaded into a bus named the “Love Bus” and traveled to over 20 different homes to sing and bring comfort to those that need it. The carolers keep a list of people that have experienced some grief in the year and they plan to stop by each one. “We thought that was real rewarding,” Ankenbauer said of that first caroling trip.
