On Sunday December 18, St. John's parish hall was full of sounds of lively chatter as 80 people enjoyed a festive Christmas lunch of tourtiere and Christmas pudding. Bea Quarrie, a popular adjudicator for the Sears Drama festival and former arts and drama teacher, told her story of the foggy night December 3rd, 1956 when she, her family and others maneuvered their way through minefields as they were escaping from their homeland, Hungary, after the Russian invasion.

They spent about a year in refugee camps before coming to Canada. She told of how the organizers of the camps saw the Hungarians as uneducated and uncivilized until one evening they organized a concert that changed peoples' minds. Some of the refugees were opera singers and other musicians. They taught Bea, 11 years old at the time, to sing Silent Night in three languages. The people in the kitchen were asked if they could keep the noise of the clanging of the pots down a little as they put on a concert but they angrily refused. The Hungarians continued with their concert until the kitchen help came out into the hall watching the concert in awe. Later they presented Bea with a large doll and a bag of toys. When she started giving out the toys to the other children they said, "No, no these toys are all for you." They then proceeded to give toys they had collected to the other children as well. The audience was deeply moved by Bea's vivid memory of this most important time in her life.
 
The profit of $350.00 from the lunch was given toward St. John's general expenses.