What do you get when you spend $10,000 in three hours at Walmart, with four registers set aside for the 15 volunteers to push the carts through the next hour, then 30 people wrap 900 presents in two and a half hours using 3,000 square feet of colorful paper?
Greencastle-Exchange Club members know the answer. Two-hundred-five children in 77 families in Greencastle-Antrim School District have a merry Christmas.
The project is the culmination of a year of fundraising to bring some joy to families who are having a tough go. It brings satisfaction to the members who all share in some way to bring the huge undertaking to fruition.
Even Paul Russell was impressed with his display.
Russell, 89, and his wife Pat, 72, first saw their collection of Department 56 New England Village Christmas houses featured at the Allison-Antrim Museum last Thursday. He had intended to help museum assistant David Stratton set up the 75 houses and 300 accessories at the beginning of the month, but health reasons prevented him from attending. Perhaps that was just as well.
The 2011 Heritage Christmas Home Tour will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11 and features homes that were built from the 1700s to 1977 and a church that was officially established in 1882.
Tickets are $12 in advance and are available during normal business hours at Carl's Drug Store, at the Greencastle-Chamber of Commerce Chamber office at 217 E. Baltimore St. and from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9 at the Holiday House, which is located on the northwest corner of the square (by Tower Bank). Remaining tickets are $15 the day of the tour at the Holiday House from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
There's lot coming up on the Heritage Christmas schedule, including trolley rides Saturday and the home tour Sunday.
Christmas pageants are in final rehearsals. The tree is lit. Santa Claus has come to town. Shopping is well underway by many. Now that it’s December, there is even more to come from Heritage Christmas as sponsored by the Greencastle-Antrim Chamber of Commerce.
A tree lighting ceremony was held on Greencastle’s Center Square Friday night. The event was part of Greencastle-Antrim Heritage Christmas. A parade followed the next morning. CHECK OUT OUR PHOTO GALLERY FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THE TREE LIGHTING AND THE PARADE.
A Christmas melodrama will be part of the weekend's festivities, kicked off by the Heritage Christmas tree lighting ceremony Friday at 7 p.m. When the last songs have echoed away, participants can head on over to Greencastle-Antrim High School for the Drama Club presentation of "Christmas Crisis in Mistletoe Mesa." The show will be repeated Saturday, Nov. 19, both starting at 8 p.m.
The Greencastle-Antrim Community Thanksgiving Service will be held at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20 at Otterbein United Brethren Church, corner of Leitersburg and South Allison streets.
What better way to start the holiday shopping season than shopping local. On Friday, Nov. 4 from 5 to 8 p.m., First Friday has an evening of music and shopping in store.
Greencastle-Antrim High School homecoming festivities are in full swing. The entire week is Spirit Week at the high school, with special dress codes each day. A pep rally will be held Friday afternoon.
The homecoming parade is at 6 p.m. and the presentation of the court will be at 7 p.m. on Kaley Field.
First Friday in downtown Greencastle will be holding its Oktoberfest celebration from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7.
On Sept. 2, First Friday in Greencastle is taking an opportunity to thank its patrons with a special customer appreciation night. For one night only, everyone can enjoy special discounts and promotions at select downtown businesses. A card detailing the promotions can be picked up at the First Friday table on the square or at participating businesses on the night of the event.
The ninth annual Greencastle-Antrim July Fourth Celebration will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, July 4 at Tayamentasachta Environmental Center in the pavilion and walnut grove areas.
In two weeks Greencastle will be overrun by soldiers and people in period clothing. April 7 to 10 marks the start of The Invasion of Pennsylvania, a statewide initiative of PA Civil War 150, to commemorate the sesquicentenniel of the war that impacted not only the nation, but also Greencastle and Franklin County, dramatically.
Frances M. “Dolly” Harris was a teen when she waved the American flag in the face of danger during the Civil War. For her courage she was buried with full military honors.
Allison-Antrim Museum officials would like to see perhaps Greencastle’s and Franklin County’s greatest heroine honored for her bravery again in the 21st century with the erection of a statue. To that end, the museum will launch a fund drive next month during the Pennsylvaia Civil War 150th festivities in Greencastle aimed at purchasing a life-size bronze statue in her honor.
Greencastle gets to be the first community in the state to host an event for Pennsylvania Civil War 150. The five-year sesquicentennial commemoration of the Civil War, a statewide initiative, kicks off April 8 - 10 with "Skirmish on the Square."
The final remnant of Heritage Christmas disappeared Monday. G.W. Electric took down the tree on Center Square and the lights that decorated downtown Greencastle since November.
Members of Calvary Chapel of the Cumberland Valley presented a living Nativity during Heritage Christmas Dec. 10. Characters alternated while seeking warmth at host site White Hall Manor, but the calf, goat and sheep stayed outside the entire time. Heritage Christmas continues this weekend.
Russ Clever and Dody Clever take their floor show to the Greencastle Presbyterian Church, 57 W. Baltimore St., at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 17 for a special performance as part of the 20th anniversary celebration of Heritage Christmas
