One of the highlights of the Santa Claus Parade in Niagara-on-the-Lake on Dec. 13 will be the knitted items made by 97-year-old Dora Werenchuk.

Werenchuk has lived through more Christmases than most and hopes her creations help keep people warm — in both body and spirit.

She said she knits “mostly pullover and sweaters,” her favourite items to make, but her collection also includes winter hats. She also dabbles in crocheting: one example, a white wool filet crochet depicting rural life, hangs between two rooms in her home.

“There’s no second one in the world,” said Werenchuk. “That’s because I created it myself.”

Her path to knitting began in a far more difficult place.

As a teenager in Austria in the early 1940s, she was forced into the Hitler Youth after the Nazi occupation of the country. Her first experience knitting was making socks for soldiers on the European battlefields of the Second World War.

“Crazy he was,” she said, of the leader of the Third Reich, recalling how things initially seemed good after the invasion, with improved social programs, but deteriorated once the war escalated.

Werenchuk moved to Canada in 1949. She first spent three years in Lethbridge, Alta., working in sugar beets before coming to the Niagara region in 1952.

After six months in St. Catharines, she settled in the Niagara-on-the-Lake home her husband built in 1953.

Throughout her life, she kept knitting and crocheting. She became especially active after retirement and now sells her work outside her home.

Her friend Shirley DeBoer, who’s supporting the project, said children’s hats sell for $5, adult hats for $8 and sweaters for $10 to $15.

DeBoer will be selling Werenchuk’s items outside the Royal LePage office at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday during the parade.

A portion of the proceeds will go to Community Crew, a Niagara-based organization that provides nutritious lunches.

Those who cannot pick up a sweater at the parade can call DeBoer at 647-885-9353.

daniel@niagaranow.com