BERLIN UPDATE

Page 4 November, 2012
Hunting vs. Thanksgiving
How does hunting season affect your family Thanksgiving plans?
“Thanksgiving at my mom’s is
short so I can get back to my
dad’s to hunt. Thanksgiving at
my dad’s has a lot more people
because it has our ‘hunting
family’ too,” sophomore Bridget
Freimark said.
“We spend most of the
day in the woods, come
back for lunch and
watch football then head
back out,” senior Drew
Wallace said.
“We get up and hunt until
lunch. We leave our hunting
stuff scattered all around the
house and eat some turkey
and fall asleep watching
football,” senior Bryce Pischke
said.
“We’ll hunt Thanksgiving morning,
which sometimes makes mom
mad, and Friday if we don’t get
anything. Thanksgiving at dad’s
is everyone who hunts so there’s
a lot of tired people,” senior
Amanda Mack said.
Created by Emma Hargrave
Reunited family adjusts to new life
By Brooke Nighbor
The Ajinova and Willis families
came together as one
when parents Melanie and
Gene reconnected after
many years. They previously
attended elementry school
together.
Adjusting to their new
lives as the Willis family is
going well. They still face
some challenges by not
being able to spend a lot
of time together. On the
other hand being a whole
family has been a positive
change.
“It has brought us together
as a support system,” Melanie
Willis said.
Some of the risks Melanie
Willis faced as a parent
moving her child Natalia
across country from Tennessee
to Wisconsin her senior
year were worrying about
her not making new friends
and fitting in.
Natalia Ajinova was excited
to move.
“It was bittersweet, nerve
racking but exciting at the
same time,” Ajinova said.
Ajinova was excited to
move to Wisconsin because
she wanted to attend a different,
better school, and it
was time for a change.
“I love the city life, but it
got to be too crazy and the
school was too big,” Ajinova
said.
Mother and daughter
chose Wisconsin over Tennesse
because Melanie
Willis had previously lived in
Wisconsin before and has
family here.
The timing of the situation
was influenced by the family
going through a major
struggle the past two years.
“It just became a good
time for a change.” Melanie
Willis said.
Damian Willis, son of Gene,
has a positive outlook on
the marrige.
“I am excited about having
a step-sister,” Willis said.
Photo Submitted
The new Willis family gathers on a beautiful October
day for the wedding celebration.
Photo Submitted
November, 2012 Page 5
Students search for jobs
By Nicole Harrington
Teens are beginning
to spread their wings as
they go through high
school, searching for
their meaning in life.
One way of finding their
way is to get a job.
“I’ve been working
at McDonalds for four
months and I had no
trouble finding a job
there,” sophomore Bryce
Paul said.
Other jobs such as factories
and farming are
easy finds if students
have the knowledge to
work there.
“I wanted to get a job
for the future because
I’m going to need one
anyway,” Paul said.
Paul claims he has no
Traditions to talk about
By Hannah Trochinski house because she
Families recently celebrated
Thanksgiving
and everyone was looking
forward to the turkey
in the weeks before.
Okay, maybe not the
turkeys themselves, but
all of the humans were.
Besides food, Thanksgiving
is about family
and something every
family has: traditions.
Whether it is just that the
family gets together at
grandma and grandpa’s
house or they do
everything the same
down to the letter every
year, it is there.
Some families have
old-styled traditions like
praying before the meal
or certain people bringing
certain dishes.
“We always pray before
the meal and celebrate
at my grandma’s
risk of losing
his
job, even
now that
he is in
school.
O n e
company
that often
hires
students
is Church
“
This is a good experience
for me to learn
to work with kids,”
senior Callie Walker
said.
Street Market.
“I look for a teen who
takes responsibility for
their own appearance
and actions,” manager
Mary Simon said.
Some key advantages
to getting the job is to
pick up and bring back
their own applications
and to dress appropriately.
makes the turkey and
doesn’t like lugging it
around to other people’s
houses,” freshman Alicia
Brownlow said.
This seems to be something
quite a few students
do. Although, not
everyone goes over the
river and through the
woods to grandma’s
house for Thanksgiving.
“It depends. Sometimes
we go to my mom’s and
sometimes we go to my
dad’s,” junior Christian
Gillhouse said.
In recent years, this
seems to be a new issue.
With more and more parents
getting divorced,
the Thanksgiving their
kids are used to does not
happen.
As students get older
they are given more responsibilities.
Maybe
”
“Teens these
days that
wear pajamas
when
dropping off
their application
is a big
turn-off,” Simon
said.
When students
look for
work it helps
to wear the proper dress
attire so they look like
they are serious about
the job.
Senior Callie Walker
has a summer job as a
babysitter and also on
weekends during the
school year.
“I want to be a teacher.
This is a good experience
for me to learn to
they help cook the meal
or maybe they just have
to clean up.
“I bake a pie,” sophomore
Daniel DeHoyos
said. “I make delicious
pie.”
Thanksgiving celebration
always focuses on
the food. When someone
asks what people
think of when they think
of Thanksiging, nine out
of 10 times they will say
something about food.
“My dad is a good cook,
especially for Thanksgiving,”
Gillhouse said.
Okay, so most people
wait all year for the turkey
that grandma makes,
their aunt’s famous
mashed potatoes, the
dressing and of course,
pumpkin pie. (Yum!) With
that constant thought
of the meal it is hard to
think of anything else.
work with kids,” Walker
said.
Walker provides transportation
for the kids she
watches, taking them to
their activities and back
and forth between their
parents. She also helps
set up birthday parties
and makes sure the children
do their homework.
“When their friends
come over, somethimes
I end up watching 10
kids,” Walker said.
Taking a job is a big responsibility
for everyone.
Dress code and work
progress is important on
a daily basis. Honesty,
reliablility, communication
skills and cooperation
are important for a
working student.
“I always think about
the turkey,” DeHoyos
said.
Many people watch
the football game, while
others have a less conventional
way to celebrate.
“We have a snowball
fight!” DeHoyos said. “I
win every year.”
Even when there is not
any snow like last year
they still do an outdoor
activiy. That is a tradition
and as everyone knows,
families have to keep up
with traditions.