December 30, 2024 – Just in time for the conclusion of the holiday season, the Community Heritage Center at the Clovis Veterans Memorial District is spreading joy and cheer with families with the return of their seasonal Family Day.
Held several times throughout the year during school breaks, “Family Day” seeks to provide families with a fun and engaging history lesson all tied together with a theme chosen for each event.
This past Saturday, they gathered community members for a holiday-themed day, complete with Christmas ornament-making, cookies and hot cocoa, and the reading of a beloved Christmas story, The Berlin Candy Bomber by Gail Halvorsen.
“The heavens were full of stars,” shared Ruth Lang, a Researcher for the Clovis Community Heritage Center, as she read the story to an attentive audience, hanging on her every word. “Hal, as he was known to his crew, wrapped his hands around the Yoko C54 Cargo Plane packed with 20,000 pounds of flour. ‘This is the real spirit of Christmas,’ he thought to himself.”
Lang continued reading about “Hal,” who shared various household goods with families in Berlin who could not venture outside of the city gates years after World War Two ended. The children’s gratitude and appreciation for such meager rations profoundly struck Hal.
Wanting to share more with the children but not having much, he found two pieces of gum in his pocket, which he distributed to the children. They were overjoyed and split it amongst one another, grateful to even receive a sniff of the small stick.
This gave Hal the idea to distribute candy to the children when he could, wiggling his airplane wings when he flew over the land to signal it was him.
“It’s just a really kind of inspirational story in a time where things were really harsh, and just kind of seeing the good in people and the good in humanity,” explained Vaughan Rios, the Outreach Coordinator for the Community Heritage Center. “We just want to share that message of hope that things can get better.”
Stories such as these align perfectly with the theme of the Community Heritage Center and the Clovis Veterans Memorial District – appreciating the everyday pleasures and spreading kindness to everyone you can will fill your heart with happiness, no matter what time of the year it is.
Additionally, in sharing this true story about an American pilot, families and children can witness the dedication and generosity of our servicemembers.
Rios spoke to this as well, stating, “We always kind of have it – honor, educate, inspire – in the back of our mind. We try to tell stories that are inspirational.”
The Community Heritage Center looks forward to another wonderful year of hosting Family Day in 2025, hoping to see more families and Clovis locals coming to visit the interactive museum about our local and national history. Those interested in attending more events can follow them on Facebook at Clovis Veterans Memorial District or on Instagram at @cvmdistrict.