Morgantown/Honey Brook townlively.com
NOVEMBER 22, 2023
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL XXXI • NO 42
Christmas at Joanna: A holiday tradition BY FRANCINE FULTON
Children who drop off their letters to Santa will receive a personalized response in the mail.
weather. “There is a mix and match of little toys, games, crafts and activity sheets,” she pointed out. “We have a coloring book in one of the houses, and the gnome house has a stuffed gnome for kids to take home.” “We plan on 350 kids (visiting the village), which is what we had last year,” she added. Children can visit the village any time during the holiday season. The mailbox, which will be accessible 24 hours a day, will close on Monday, Dec. 18. All letters should be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
“Families have made our Christmas event their family tradition,” said Mark Zerr, executive director of the Hay Creek Valley Historical Association (HCVHA), when describing Christmas at Joanna, held at Historic Joanna Furnace. “It has become a very popular community event.” This year, HCVHA will present Christmas at Joanna on Friday, Dec. 1, from 5 to 9 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 2 and 3, from 4 to 9 p.m. The event will feature a live Nativity, children’s activities, a sale of food and beverages and a craft market. Those who visit Christmas at Joanna will be able to see the historic site well in advance as they drive along Route 10, since more than 1,000 glowing luminarias will light the furnace walkways. The luminarias will be lit each evening by Boy Scout Troop 543, Plowville. This year’s Christmas at Joanna event will depict Christmas 1873, when the furnace was operated by the Smith family. During the event, the mule stable will be transformed into the parlor of the Victorian mansion of ironmaster L. Heber Smith and his wife, Ella Jane Grubb Smith. “This year, we will be doing a kitchen setting, where re-enactors will be preparing
See Tree lighting pg 6
See Christmas at Joanna pg 2
There will be 19 decorated playhouses in Santa’s Village this holiday season. Each will contain a gift for children to take home.
BY FRANCINE FULTON
o officially mark the start of the holiday season, the Caernarvon Township Parks and Recreation Committee will present its annual tree-lighting ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 25, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Friendship Park, 3287 North St., Morgantown. The event will also mark the opening of Santa’s Village in the park, which consists of a series of small playhouses that children may visit, as well as a mailbox where they can mail their letters to Santa Claus.
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Each child who places a letter in the mailbox will receive a personalized response from Santa in the mail. In addition to lighting a large tree in the park, the event will include a visit by Santa Claus, who will arrive on the back of Twin Valley Fire Department truck. Free coffee, provided by Twin Valley Coffee, and hot chocolate, donated by the Heritage Restaurant and the Berks Construction Group, will be available. “There will also be s’mores over an open campfire and a craft for the kids to do that night,” said Erin
McMullen, a member of the parks and recreation committee. McMullen has decorated each of the playhouses with a different theme, and each one will contain a small gift for children. “The village has expanded this year. We had eight houses last year and we will have 19 houses this year,” McMullen reported. “There is a treat in each house from the elves.” Each of the gifts, including crafts, candy, hot cocoa and stickers, has been individually bagged by McMullen, with the help of family members, to keep them safe from the
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Caernarvon to host tree lighting, opening of Santa’s Village