WEDNESDAY
December 13, 2023
SPORTS: Bob Jones High School girls swim team wins big at state meet
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A Mardi Gras Christmas
INSIDE
Volunteerism
The Food Bank of North Alabama is looking for more volunteers to help with the increasing need. See how you can help others throughout the year. Page 2A
Adopt a Hero
To say “Merry Christmas” in a practical way, residents can donate to the “Adopt a Hero” initiative for gifts to Madison’s police officers, firefighters and office co-workers. Page 5A
Mardi Gras is just around the corner, and this colorful krewe was a hit at the 2023 Madison Christmas Parade on Sunday. After being postponed Saturday due to the threat of severe weather, the parade made its way down Hughes Road in perfect conditions. The “big man” himself, Santa, was all smiles as he waved to thousands of people lining the streets. For more photos from the parade, see page 4A and go to our Facebook page for The Madison Record.
Christmas Capers
Gas prices continue to decline into the holidays
Invent to Prevent
By STAFF REPORTS news@themadisonrecord.com
Students at James Clemens High School are tackling obstacles to personal social connections in the age of social media with the help of the Department of Homeland Security’s Invent to Prevent program. Page 6A
A crowd tries to catch one of the many rubber chickens thrown from the top of a downtown Madison building in the unusual, but heart-warming, local tradition. Photo by John Few
Mooresville
The idyllic setting of 1818 Farms in Mooresville has expanded recently to include a historic building, The Cottage at 1818 Farms, which will provide space for special events, workshops and a showroom. Page 7A
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16 pages • 2 sections
How tossing rubber chickens off a roof became a Christmas event By MARIA RAKOCZY maria@themadisonrecord.com
MADISON - Chickens flying off a rooftop may not be the tradition that immediately comes to mind when you think of Christmas, but in Madison, it’s a nearly one-hundredyear-old tradition beloved by locals that spreads Christmas cheer and gifts to the streets of Madison. This year, Madison residents and visitors alike are invited to gather on Main Street and be a part of this unique, local tradition on Saturday, Dec. 16
at 4 p.m. The tradition, known as the Madison Christmas Capers, is believed to have originated in the late 1920s or 1930s by local drugstore owner Doc Hughes. Hughes would climb atop his drugstore in downtown Madison on Christmas Eve and drop live guinea fowl from the roof to shoppers on the street below. The live birds, a type that could fly farther than the common chicken of today, added an element of excitement and surprise to the activity. Local historian John Rankin said,
“That was what made it interesting is that there was a scramble. You couldn’t just stay in one place. You don’t know where they’re going to fly or for how far they’d fly.” One story even tells of one of the birds flying all the way across the street and causing a mob to chase after it, destroying a neighbor’s newly erected fence in the process. The chickens were indeed highly sought-after prizes. Each bird had a small prize or a gift certificate to be redeemed at the drugstore attached to it, See CAPERS Page 3A
MADISON - There may be some good news for holiday travelers this year. Average gasoline prices in the Madison and Huntsville area have fallen 5.8 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.79 a gallon, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 261 stations in the greater Huntsville area. Prices are 16.6 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 6.6 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 8.4 cents in the last week and stands at $4.10 per gallon. According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in the area was priced at $2.46 per gallon over the weekend while the most expensive was $3.19 per gallon, a difference of 73 cents per gallon. The lowest price in the state was $2.43 while the highest was $3.58. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 9.6 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.11 over the weekend. The national average is down 23.7 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 10.1 cents per gallon lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy. “For the 12th straight week, or three straight months, the national average has continued to decline, now at its lowest level of 2023 heading into the prime of the See GAS Page 4A
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FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!