Jim Matteson donates to the Cheer Club. The Cheer Club collected unwrapped toys and gifts throughout the holiday season to be donated to local children and families in need through the Salvation Army and St. Vincent de Paul. (Journal photo by Randy Crouch)

From left, Renee Seaborg, Kim Stille, Craig Heinonen and Donna Heikkila of Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors donate a boxing set, toys, sleds and a scooter to the Cheer Club. The Cheer Club collected unwrapped toys and gifts throughout the holiday season to be donated to local children and ...

Three-year-old CeCe Wohlfeil donates Legos to the Cheer Club. The Cheer Club collected unwrapped toys and gifts throughout the holiday season to be donated to local children and families in need through the Salvation Army and St. Vincent de Paul. (Journal photo by Taylor Johnson)

Mason and Maverick LaPlaunt donate sleds and stuffed animals to the Cheer Club. The Cheer Club collected unwrapped toys and gifts throughout the holiday season to be donated to local children and families in need through the Salvation Army and St. Vincent de Paul. (Journal photo by Taylor Johnson)

Lauren LaBrecque, 8, donates stuffed animals and dolls to the Cheer Club. The Cheer Club collected unwrapped toys and gifts throughout the holiday season to be donated to local children and families in need through the Salvation Army and St. Vincent de Paul. (Journal photo by Taylor Johnson)

“’Hear! Hear!” screamed the jay from a neighboring tree, where i had heard a tittering form some time, ‘winter has a concentrated and nutty kernel, if you know where to look for it.’” — Henry David Thoreau Winter has officially arrived all across the Northern Hemisphere. There ...