Last week’s (Dec. 21) Main Street column continued a decade-long tradition of reprinting a story I’d written in 2005 after the first Christmas without my father. I debated whether to publish it again thinking that surely it had run its course with readers but I also know that of the 52 columns I write each year, that one brings the most touching emails and letters in response. So 'A Christmas Eve Journey of Giving' appeared once again. And as always, the link to the column was posted on my Facebook page just after 6 a.m. on Wednesday morning.

Throughout the day dozens of people commented and shared their own stories of navigating the holidays without a loved one, especially those who’d lost their fathers. My Facebook village of about 3,000 is predominantly local people, many I know personally, but many who might know me from this column or from the radio. Many don’t know each other.

As I’m reminded often there are many positives and benefits to social media, likely far more than there are negatives. But on Wednesday morning something extraordinary happened there on my Facebook page.

One of the commenters was Elizabeth Glidden, a young mother in her 30s who had lost her father three years ago and her much-loved father-in-law on Dec. 1. She was struggling through the sadness to make a happy Christmas for her children. A few days before while shopping she’d been able to make a little boy smile by gifting him with an inexpensive toy he’d been admiring in the checkout line. The simple moment brought her the joy she’d been missing.

Another friend, Cheryl Freeman, was marking the second Christmas without her dad and Wednesday would have been his birthday. She was feeling sad and said the column inspired her to shake it off and head out to make some Christmas magic for someone.

While I’ve known Cheryl for years and Elizabeth for a couple of years, the two didn’t know each other and were just two people who happened to be commenting on my post that day.

Later that afternoon Elizabeth posted that she’d been shopping at Walmart in Hayden and a woman had bought her cart of items at the checkout stand. The two had shared a hug and a tear.

An hour later Cheryl read Elizabeth’s comment and was staggered to realize that the woman was her! Cheryl had gone to Walmart to do something meaningful in honor of her father’s birthday by randomly paying for the shopping carts filled with items for four people, which included Elizabeth’s. It may have been a coincidence but I don’t think so. I believe that it was another of those moments I attribute to my own father being quite present in my life always, but especially at Christmas.

On the day after Christmas, Cheryl and Elizabeth joined me for lunch where we celebrated our fathers and Christmas and moments that defy explanation. A trio of daddy’s girls feeling blessed, being blessed.

• • •

On Jan. 1, 1937, Kermit and Jeannette Mills welcomed a son, Ron into the world. The baby was born in the Bessie Oslands Maternity House, the building which still stands on the corner of 1st Street and Indiana Avenue in Coeur d’Alene. The Millses lived in the 900 block of Sherman Avenue where Jeannette operated a beauty salon in the home. The family later moved to 711 Coeur d’Alene Ave.

In a conversation with Ron’s daughter, Dina Hourland, she mentioned her grandmother complained for years that her son’s distinction of being the first baby born in the new year was never recognized in the Coeur d’Alene Press. So here it is, 80 years later, and I’m documenting for the record that the first baby of 1937 in Coeur d’Alene was Ron Mills!

Dina said on Sunday, Jan. 8, Ron and his wife, Betty, will welcome friends for a milk and cookie open house at their Hayden home, 880 W. Cheyenne Ave. from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you attend or send a card make sure you let Ron know you read about it in the Coeur d’Alene Press. :)

• • •

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne

For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne,

we’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

• • •

Happy birthday today to Chris Holloway, Tim Heidecker, Annie McCloskey, Lynda Thurman and George Rodkey.

Tomorrow Jaime Johnson, Molly Shaw, Tammy Engen, Debbie Trimble, Kathy Carothers, Toni Capaul, Sheila Wayman, Connie Haggerty, John Martin, Rachel Pen and Jamie Rowen celebrate another trip around the sun.

Blowing out the candles on Friday are Gayle Jacklin Stegmann, Marsha Dornquast, Nona Rambo, Bryce Raynor, Ilene Moss, Kalia Baltzell, Diane Ahlers, Dave Dutro, Tamara Poelstra and LeVenia Jacobson.

New Year’s Eve birthdays belong to Cheryl Freeman (60!), Kalia Baltzell, Sarah Chase, George Holcomb, Phyllis Koepsell, Shaun Leary, Sandy Thompson and Crystal Dean.

On Jan. 1, aka New Year’s Day, Ron Mills (80!), Edie Miller, Ron Jacobson, Jan Leaf, Kathy Edinger Dingman, Linda Jordan, Kevin Johnson, Steve Schiller, Johanna Johnson, Jessica Hammond, David Attridge, Dianna Owens, Holly Childers, Katrina Boyer, Johanna Johnson, Declan Jones, Cheryl Shepherd, sisters Shaun Willams and Shana Crimp celebrate the first Main Street birthdays of 2017.

Nicole Barnes, Jerry Roth, Bob McIlvenna and Dion Unruh bundle up the birthday wishes on Monday.

On Tuesday Harvey Dougall, Katie Soy, Jeff Block and Erika Umphenour celebrate another trip around the sun.

• • •

Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.