Last week, during our Victorian Christmas prep, our neighbor, W&Q Board Member and town selectman Doug Baston and his wife Barbara stopped by the Museum on their daily walk. After some chit-chat about our expectations for the event, Doug mentioned that he had received an email from a friend in St John, New Brunswick, bringing to his attention an article in the St John Telegraph-Journal. The author had apparently attended last year's VC and urged his readers to make the 500 mile round trip as our celebration would justify the effort required to attend. We were quite flattered at the international publicity but thought no more of it.
When I saw them on Saturday, I mentioned the conversation to Santa and Mrs. Clause. During the course of the day, Mrs. Clause, as is her wont, would ask people where they were from. In the early afternoon, Santa heard one woman, there with her family, say that she was from St John,NB. He then asked her if she had seen the newspaper article and she affirmed that she had and that was what prompted her to make the trip. She assured Santa that it really is a wonderful event that the volunteers host.
The weather may have brought down our numbers this year but for those who were there, including our new friends from St John, it was a magical day.