While 2021 did not end up being the year that many hoped for when they welcomed the year in small, but optimistic, groups on New Years Eve, there were some moments of hope.
Long-lost cats came back, grandmas were celebrated for the wonderful ladies they are and British Columbians big and small came together to bring a bring of joy during a tumultuous year.
Here are the top seven stories that made us smile amid the chaos.
| Twilight and Harold relax at home in Cache Creek after Twilight’s hair-raising adventure. (Angela Taylor) |
1. The cat came back: Twilight returns to B.C. Interior home after 2 month disappearance
If cats could talk, then Twilight would have a hair-raising tale to tell of being catnapped from her Cache Creek home, left in the wilderness 20 miles away, and ending up at the SPCA in Port Coquitlam five hours from home after being rescued by Good Samaritans.
And while cats can’t talk – even ones as clever as Twilight – her owners told us the tale.
| Nine-year-old Chilliwackian Emily Loewen shares a moment with Lytton mayor Jan Polderman on Tuesday. Loewen presented Polderman $3,440 on Tuesday, Aug. 3, most of it raised through lemonade sales. (Eric J. Welsh/ Chilliwack Progress) |
2. Nine-year-old Chilliwack girl presents Lytton mayor with $3,440 from lemonade sales
When the Village of Lytton burned to the ground at the end of June, many British Columbians felt hopeless at the climate catastrophe that had befallen the province. But not Emily Loewen. The Chilliwack girl started a lemonade stand and raised thousands of dollars to help rebuild the village, $2 at a time.
| Six sets of twins are attending Parkview Elementary School in Sicamous for the 2021-22 school year. From left to right, their names are: Levi and Cody Clark, Kate and Reese Osmundson, Maxx and Maycie-Jean Lane, Dustin and Dillon Hilder, Emily and Nathan Presley, and Aurora and Logan Dawson. (Zachary Roman/Eagle Valley News) |
3. Seeing double: 1 in 17 kids attending Shuswap school are twins
You probably know some twins but do you know 12 of them? If not, you must not be familiar with the Parkview Elementary in Sicamous. The school of 203 kids is home to six sets of twins, enough for one in every 17 students to be part of a pair.
4. 91-year-old West Kelowna man creates his version of a hobbit house
Some of us like the Lord of Rings trilogy. Some of us even love it! But then there’s 91-year-old Herb Kettner of West Kelowna, who built a custom hobbit house.
5. Pro ring finder recovers 2 lost wedding rings from Mission lakes, re-unites with happy owners
Chris Turner is the founder of Ring Finders is used to making people happy when he discovers their long-lost metal objects, but he reached new heights when he found not one but two weddings rings in a lake.
“I love my job, it’s the best job in the world. I get to make people happy,” Turner says.
6. ‘Milah the Pig’ goes on a walk in Kelowna’s City Park
Did you know you can teach a pig to do tricks? Well if you’re walking around Kelowna anytime soon, you might just spot Milah the 80-pound Vietnamese potbelly pig sitting on command.
7. Young Sicamous students surprise volunteer ‘Grandma Peggy’ with gift, carols
Her name is Peggy Henrickson, but to the kids of Sicamous, she’s Grandma Peggy. And to Grandma Peggy, these Sicamous kids are just as special.
““They’re all a little piece of my heart… I’ve never met a child I don’t like, no, that I don’t love.”
