Christmas 2025: Cronin is keeping traditions alive

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

This year’s Blyth Citizen of the Year Award winner Cheryl Cronin has had a place in this community for generations now, growing up on what is now Moncrieff Road and eventually moving into Blyth, and with that comes a lot of Christmas celebrations.

 

She and her family grew up with very traditional Christmases out in the country on the farm in her early days. It was a mixed operation, so everyone had to chip in to complete the chores before it was time for holiday fun. Her father, Aubrey, was a major player in the world of Clydesdale horses for many years, so, in a way, that was the focus of the farm, but there were always cows to be milked, lambs to be fed and eggs to be collected.

 

Cronin remembers really enjoying the holidays when she was young and out at the farm. There was a tremendous sense of community back then, with the one-room schoolhouses and small community churches. This, she said, was especially evident around the holidays when family, friends and neighbours alike would get together and spend time with one another for the holidays, when snowbanks were high, temperatures were low and travel options were limited.

 

She remembers Christmas concerts and carol sings at her school, which was on Moncrieff Road, always culminated in a visit from Santa Claus, which was thrilling for the children. Cheryl’s mother, Marie, was a schoolteacher there and at other schools.

 

There were plenty of family get-togethers as well, with Cronin and her siblings alternating every year between grandparents on both sides for Christmas and Boxing Day. They would also always attend church services around the holidays. First at Auburn United Church and then at Blyth United when she moved into Blyth and became part of that congregation. She became part of the church choir in Blyth - after being part of Auburn’s as well - and she is still a member, meaning that she’s been a member of the choir for over 60 years and sits as its longest-tenured member right now.

 

As a member of the Blyth United Church congregation and choir, of course, the holidays were big for that community as well. Cronin has been part of many Sunday school Christmas pageants and other service carol sings over the years and remains as involved as she can be to this day.

 

Her history with music is extensive throughout the community and much of it can be tied back to the holidays. Not only did Cronin ply her trade with the local church, but she has also done so for the Blyth Lions Club and area students for many years at Blyth Public School and others. She would serve as the pianist for a number of local school Christmas concerts and was even featured in The Citizen years ago to reflect on the history of Christmas concerts at Blyth Public School just before it was slated for closure.

 

As she grew older and married her husband Tom, who passed away last year, they began to grow their family and developed traditions of their own, though they were very much rooted in those of Cronin’s childhood and some have remained in place for decades.

 

One Christmas tradition that they’ve had now for decades is not holiday-centric at all - it’s a birthday party for their daughter Michelle, who was born on Dec. 26, 1970.

 

That Christmas, Cheryl remembers, she was able to enjoy the holiday celebrations with her family. However, she began experiencing back pain into the night that made her wonder if it was something beyond a simple sore back. She called her doctor, who advised her to head for the hospital to be safe and the rest is history. 

 

She remembers bits and pieces of that night. There was plenty of snow on the roads, she said, and Tom forgot his keys before they left the house, but, sure enough, in the morning hours of Boxing Day, the couple was blessed with a daughter and now Cronin and her family make a point to celebrate Michelle’s birthday over the holidays, ensuring that her special day doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.

 

Now, there’s even another birthday in the family - this one on Dec. 23 - so there’s usually a fair bit of leftover birthday cake around the Cronin house amid all of the holiday treats.

 

And there are no shortage of those either. In the years since her mother and aunt have passed away, Cronin has taken on two big sellers around the holidays: her mother’s shortbread and her aunt’s sherry cream pie. She’s been baking them for years and they are always in very high demand over the holidays.

 

And, for the Cronin family, the holidays extend beyond Christmas and its surrounding days. New Year’s Day has become a big one for the family with 30 people usually congregating to ring in the new year, always after a full lasagna meal. However, sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic brought that tradition to an end.

 

This tradition began in the mid-1990s when Tom and Cheryl’s son, Scott, moved to Indiana with his family for work and has never moved back. Those Cronins always want to be with their extended families on the holidays, but they usually have their Christmas celebrations south of the border. They then usually make their way back to Canada between Christmas and New Year’s Eve - which also helps them to avoid the heavy border traffic around Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day - for the big family get-together.