Old-fashioned Christmas celebration

Residents ventured back in time at the Historical Society of Stillwater Township’s ‘A Yule Time Stroll’ winter festival Sunday, Dec. 17.

Despite threatening weather, the event went off without a hitch, culminating with the lighting of the town’s Christmas tree.

“Everyone involved is thrilled at how this event came together,” said Beth Martin, one of the coordinators. “The only thing we really weren’t able to do was the wagon ride because of the pending rain.”

Martin and other organizers were dressed in period clothes. Her husband, Andy, dressed as Abraham Lincoln, regaled visitors with stories of the town’s rich history as he conducted tours.

Stacey Michelman, another committee member, was thrilled with the event, which she agreed to help with after receiving a call from Phyllis McGeehan.

“My oh my, Phyllis’s vision for this was over the top and boy did she deliver. The day was fabulous. Being in the ‘North Pole’ when the kids came to see Santa and Mrs. Claus was such a delight. Storytime had just as many parents sitting on the carpet as it did children. A special shout out to the Stillwater Area Volunteer Fire Company. Thank you for not only providing food for our guests but for also helping us with traffic control.”

Dimitry and Sara Gataris recently purchased the town’s old church and the former Lakeland Bank. They lent both buildings for the event.

Santa greeted children in the former bank, and the church housed a number of vendors selling their wares.

One vendor was Scott Goriscak, who was selling his book, “Greetings from Swartswood.”

“I was really interested in the town where I live and realized that there was really no compilation of its history, so I decided to start researching and gathering information,” he said.

He began collecting old postcards and photos and compiling stories of the town. Swartswood is adjacent to Stillwater, and both are part of Newton.

He discovered that Swartswood was a destination for city residents who took the train west. “There were 14 casinos in the surrounding area, and it was a very popular spot.”

Jackie Dickerson was selling her Touchstone Crystals, a collection of jewelry creations.

“I heard about the town’s Fall Fest when I met Deb Drumm a while back, and then when they created this winter event, I definitely wanted to discover what it was all about and be a vendor.”

Drumm praised the steering committee. “Phyllis McGeehan had the idea to do a winter festival but for next holiday season. When our annual Fall Fest had to be canceled due to pending weather, we decided to go ahead and do it this year. That gave us six weeks to plan the entire event. I couldn’t be more proud of the committee and how the ‘Yule Time Stroll’ turned out.”