Christmas-New Year Luminaries, Snow Pile, Bond Dale Court Neighborhood
|
||||||||||
| Printer Friendly Story View |
Luminaries are us: Bundled against the cold, the Dale Court neighborhood luminaries group looks self-satisfied after another annual preparation session.
Dennis McNeal puts out a luminary on the traditional Dale Court "snowpile" created every winter by Ken Thomas.
One of the glories of living in a small town, or in a friendly neighborhood anywhere, is the fellowship of neighbors.
Bay City seems to offer as much neighborhood fellowship, or perhaps more, than most places. A good example is the Dale Court area off Four Mile Road and Reppuhn in what is euphemistically called Briar Hills (few briars, no hills).
For the past 10 years or so, the Dale Court neighbors have been making luminaries out of milk cartons, sand and votive candles. The milk cartons, decorated with sprigs of evergreen and weighted with a few trowels-ful of sand, are put out at about four foot intervals lining the court. They are lit about 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve and provide a dramatic scene for passersby and the enjoyment of those living nearby.
On New Years Eve for the past few years the votive candles, that sputtered out after midnight on Christmas, are replaced and relit for a reprise of the sparkling show. Double your money.
The practice has spread to a few neighbors on Reppuhn and there are other places in the city and suburbs that do the same. It's an enjoyable exercise that is looked forward to even though the light show is short-lived.
The Dale Court neighborhood has only seven homes on the cul-de-sac but has another important tradition, at least to the residents. That is the "Snow Pile" project. Every year Ken Thomas, retired John Glenn High School cooperative education director, uses his snow plow to form a snow pile on the circle of the cul-de-sac. This tradition pre-dates even the luminaries, perhaps going back two decades.
Mr. Thomas piles excess snow in a mound that often becomes high enough for children to slide on. Neighbors watch the pile grow with eagle eyes.
As spring approaches and the weather gets warmer, the neighbors guess the date the pile will disappear completely. The entries are submitted to the neighbor who won, or lost, the previous year's competition by guessing the date correctly.
As the end of the pile nears, usually the first week in April, some Dale Court habitues have been known to make evening forays to the snow pile, mostly to check the status of melting in hopes they won't win the contest. The "winner" must host a gathering of all the other neighbors the following year before the annual dining event to celebrate the end of the winter solstice.
There is a benefit to winning the guessing contest: the winning couple has a free dinner when the group gathers at a restaurant to celebrate and open that year's entries.
Having lived in large cities where neighbors are usually anonymous, and in neighborhoods where neighborhood feuds are common, it is refreshing and inspirational to interact positively with neighbors on a continual basis.
The little traditions of the Dale Court neighborhood provide the vehicle for that interaction, and it's great. May the traditions of the Luminaries and the Snow Pile continue into future generations and spread to other neighborhoods.###
| Printer Friendly Story View |
|
|
Dave Rogers |
|
|
|
Printer-Friendly Story View
0200 Nd: 04-21-2024 d 4 cpr 0
12/31/2020 P3v3-0200-Ad.cfm
SPONSORED LINKS
12/31/2020 drop ads P3v3-0200-Ad.cfm