Erie, Fulton, and Morrison, IL, held their Christmas Walks on the same day, Saturday, December 2, 2017. Weather always encourages or deters people to outdoor Christmas events.
The Editor participated in the latter two events, which enjoyed large numbers of attendees. Parked cars stretched down N. 4th Street, Fulton, IL, and the Jolly Trolley shuttled people to and from downtown parking spots. In her nearly 30 years portraying a teacher in the Heritage Canyon one-room schoolhouse, she never saw so many visitors at an event. The miniature school was crowded-to-crammed most of the early afternoon, before the Editor left to attend Morrison’s Christmas Walk events.
“I never saw such numbers of people attending any of our Early American Crafters events!” stated Stephanie Vavra.
Temperatures in the 50’s, a rich variety of music, and holiday activities surely drew the crowds from Mississippi River towns and surrounding cities of Northwest IL, and Clinton, and Camanche, IA. Perhaps their attendance was a way to support the Crafters and City of Fulton in their continuing refurbishments, after a devastating July flood. Mounted signs showed how high the muddy rain water had risen.
“I would like to thank everyone that visited Heritage Canyon [from noon to 7:00 p.m.],” wrote EAC member Marc Gravert, of Morrison. “I have no idea how many people came through, but there were hundreds. We ran out of cookies [donated by Subway] at 3:00 p.m. and were getting low on cocoa. So [there was] a mad dash to the store to get more, and [we] ran out again, just before we closed at 7:00. Oh, what a blessed day we had; the weather could not have been any better!”
Karter Randall, 5, and his brother Kaleb, 11, hold presents found under the Christmas tree in the one-room schoolhouse, where Vavra portrays a teacher at EAC events. Later in the afternoon, Annis Bear, also a Crafter, took over instruction. At right is the fresh tree that greeted guests in the Town Hall. It is an EAC tradition to offer free cookies and warm beverages during the Christmas Walk. This began with Harold and Thelma Wierenga–who built Heritage Canyon–as a way to thank their many visitors.
“Living Characters” Roger Poole and Virginia Rosche, below, traveled from Kieler, WI, to portray Santa and his wife. Rosche took the photo of Santa reflected in a stand-up mirror, inside the Town Hall. She was pleasantly surprised to note that he seemed to be captured in a “snowglobe.” Her Living Characters business includes many personalities, and they travel to various events. Visit https://www.facebook.com/livingcharacters.
In the newly-cleaned and refurbished church, Lisa Gerwulf played bells, accompanied by Audrey Owen, from St. Paul Lutheran Church in Clinton. Later, Karl Rafferty played banjo, and Donna Free played fiddle.
During the Illuminated Walk, lanterns and candles lit the paths. Rosche photographed a moon that would become officially “full” a few hours after the most successful Heritage Canyon Christmas Walk. Sincere thanks to our visitors and supporters. Happy holidays from the Early American Crafters!
