And “that” was the 20222 Christmas Walk…an adventure from start to finish, just about.
First off, there was the withdrawal of one of the original four houses from the list of designated residences, which necessitated a search for another home in town with easy access and adequate parking possibilities. That search took up some planning time but at last a so-called “dark horse” candidate emerged (Cue the sighs of relief.).
Each home on the tour had a theme for decoration, people lined up to assist in telling the story of the home, its decor and its family–quite a challenge! Then there was the Candlelight Tour on Thursday evening, when the historic Mott Building downtown, headquarters of the JamesA. Garfield Historical Society, was all tricked out as a speakeasy to focus on the “Roaring Twenties”, offering light refreshment and lots of fun for the walkers just setting out for the evening. One might legitimately wonder if any such well-dressed flappers ever paraded their fringes and fol-di-rol around town back in the day, or if their mothers put a stop to such frippery at the door, putting their feet firmly down and saying, “You are NOT going out like that!” Quite a few DID go out like that on the Walk and appeared to be having a fine time of it. I know of at least one local gal whose pic from the period would seem to indicate that even future Sunday School superintendents could shimmy with the best of them(My Aunt Fay, back in Lorain County left us a picture much like that–pure flapper–but she skipped the Sunday School part, too busy with dogs and horses). Anyway, it was fun seeing folks having an entertaining evening in costume.
Weekend number one had the best weather anyone could hope for to participate in an outdoor walk around town. Not a whole lot of Christmaslike scenery, but lovely for walking around town with a purpose–sunny & bright and warm enough to forgo heavy coats & scarves & boots. The lunches at the Garrettsville United Methodist Church had focused on warming, down home victuals to keep spirits up but, delicious as they were( hot soup, sandwiches, homemade pie, yum), did not have to thaw out anyone’s frost-bitten fingers or toes. Besides, the extensive display of Nativity scenes in the sanctuary, was warming in itself.
Weekend number two was a different story. Oh my, yes.
Everyone knew that it was coming, of course. The weather forecasters had been warning for some time about remnants of hurricanes, Canadian Arctic air, sleet, snow, freezing rain–the whole gamut of weather outrages. Just plain rain came first–boy, did it–followed by intermittent flurries and then the serious stuff. Caused lots of walkers to, out of courtesy, take off their shoes at the door when they visited the various venues (Not necessary at my house, carpet-cleaning comes AFTER a parade of the populace, but many thanks for the good intentions.); this required a trip back through the house to pick up the footwear left at the front door, which, of course, allowed for another look at all of the cool stuff seen on the first trip through, and chatting with the docents/friends/helpers that were still there creating the ambience and explaining all of the wonders on display. And still they came!
Bless your hearts, everyone. “All a yez,” as my farm neighbor from western PA might have said. Blessings and thanks to all of the visitors who came, saw and commented (Apologies to Wm. Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar). Blessings and thanks to all of the docents/friends/helpers who were on hand to do the decorating, man–or woman–the tour-guiding duties (I had a dad bring his daughters to learn the ropes of this kind of community service; I also had a young fellow from across the street who had a good time learning the spiel about all of the stuff in the living room–told it almost as good as I–and another young guy who impressed with his presentation about my mom’s hand-crocheted bedspread; I don’t think that he’s a crocheter himself, but you never know; Rosie Grier of the L.A. Rams did knitting, crochet, sewing & needlepoint.). There were helpers everywhere and the village put up the Christmas lights around town, merchants decorated ( the Simmons home with the trees was a demo of that), neighbors swapped Halloween lights for Christmas decor. It was everywhere. Good for us.
The cats–Indoor–Fuego, Butterscotch, Grimalkin and Ruffian– and Porch Kitties, who have their own fan club, Mamma, Sunny, Lily and Spike–are glad it’s over, so people will not be hanging around their house (I get a pass ’cause I have the catfood.)and interrupting their routine.
Bless ‘em, bless ‘em all. It’s Christmas!
