'My best gift ever'
A variety of people were asked about the best Christmas present they've every received. Here is what they said.
• Annie Rosellini, Butler County's Junior Miss 2010:
"My favorite Christmas toy ever was the American Girl Doll, Molly, that I got when I was 9 years old.
"(And) My favorite Christmas ever was when I was 12, my twin sisters came home from their first year of college."
• Paul Scanlon, president of the Associated Artists of Butler County:"One was a huge box full of colored wooden blocks (as a child). I spent hours and hours with creating buildings, little towns, etc., and 'drove' toy cars through. I think simple, durable toys like that are still great for young kids, letting them use their creativity and imagination! I'm now an architectural engineer; Maybe that was the start of my interest in buildings and design!"Also, (I received one year) a flying saucer snow sled, partly memorable because we all heard a loud bang and clang in the middle of Christmas Eve night, when my father dropped it coming down the attic stairs."<br></br><br></br><br></br>
• Ronald Harbison, 2009 Butler County Veteran of the Year:"My dad bought me a 16-gauge, single-barrel shotgun when I was probably 13 years old, and that was quite a gift back then (about 1944).""He had just returned from service in the U.S. Navy, and he was using the family shotgun. It was special because it was mine, and things were still a little bit tough back then. It meant we could hunt together."<br></br><br></br><br></br>
• Hillary Marshall, East Brady Riverfest Queen 2009:"The best gift I ever received was my dream Victorian doll house from Santa."I was 8 years old, and I will never forget the surprise I felt as I ran down the steps and laid my eyes on the doll house for the first time!""That doll house still reminds me of the joy I felt as a young girl, and that if you believe wholeheartedly in the spirit of Christmas, you will truly experience the joy and magic it brings to this special time of year."<br></br><br></br><br></br>
• Pastor John Nuzzo of Victory Family Church in Cranberry Township: “My wife, Michelle, accepted my proposal to marry me during the holidays. She has been a giftthat has kept on giving for the past 22 years.”<br></br><br></br><br></br><br></br>
• Becky Smith, Main Street Manager, Butler Downtown:"The best holiday gift that I've received is one that I've received each year for the past 28 years of my life. That 'gift' is tradition. My family and I always spend Christmas Eve at an aunt and uncle's house, and Christmas Day is spent at my parents' house, with my mother making Christmas dinner."My family has been blessed to give and receive a lot of gifts over the years, but I am most grateful that my mind is filled with memories of spending time with family as the most important part of the holidays."<br></br><br></br><br></br>
• Hollie Stevenson, 2009 Woman of the Year, GFWC Junior Woman's Club of Butler:"The gift of travel is the best gift I ever received. I got it from my husband for Christmas in 2004."In January after Christmas, we went on a 100-foot Liverboard Dive Boat called the Aquacat, scuba diving throughout the Bahamas in the Exuma Islands."Both my husband and I were teachers for a long time, and we had never traveled during the school year. So after we got out of teaching, it was a wonderful experience, good times and good friends."
