'Notes on Christmas': One Chilliwack family's holidays through the years

Marie Weeden has always been a part of Chilliwack.

Born into the Wells family—one of the preeminent settler families in the area—Marie grew up enveloped in the importance of history. Her father, Oliver Wells, not only ran the historic Edenbank Farm, established by his grandfather in 1867, but also helped revive Salish weaving practices with his Indigenous neighbours. He was an amateur ethnologist, and the first president of the Chilliwack Historical Society.

When he passed, Marie took up his mantle—editing his manuscripts, publishing his work, and continuing his advocacy for Indigenous art. But Marie was also a woman of her own passions and projects.

She made a decade-long attempt to preserve her family home for future generations, advocated for mental health support for her son and others, became the only non-Indigenous member of the Salish Weavers, created her own artwork—and, like any other person ahead of the holidays, worked to create a magical season for her kids, her friends, and her family.

Each year, Marie sent out dozens of Christmas cards, checking off the ones she had sent in a dedicated holiday address book. And each year, she would take a moment to write down her memories of the season—notes of joy and connection, but also of heartache and loss.

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