Courtesy of The Berkshire Eagle
By Jane Kaufman
ADAMS — Snow and rain may have kept some families away, but diehards put on their hats and coats and headed for the Town Common for free hay rides, chats with Santa, Christmas carols, cider doughnuts and hot chocolate with marshmallows on Sunday.
The Adams Holly Days Christmas tree lighting almost didn’t happen this year after its primary sponsor, the Adams Community Bank, decided to support a separate Holly Days event instead, that will take place on Dec. 6. But Select Board member Jay Meczywor put out a call to volunteers who made the lighting happen. Here’s how Debbie Nowicki put it.
“I found that the bank wasn’t doing it,” she said. “I said this is not right. We have to step up and we have to do this. There’s a bunch of volunteers in town that do a lot. It all got pulled together in two nights.”
Meczywor himself was standing on a curb, unfolding a step ladder and helping people in and out of hay rides offered by Alibozek’s Farm, which had two tractors hauling open trailers loaded with square bales large enough to sit on. There was a line for at least the first hour for the rides.
Girl Scouts trundled off the hay ride in time to sing in the gazebo such popular seasonal chestnuts as “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Frosty the Snowman” and “Jingle Bell Rock.” Some swayed as they sang, perhaps at least partly to stay warm in the damp chill.
The Adams forest wardens directed traffic in front of the common, and a DJ played popular Christmas songs.
At 2:30 p.m., all eyes were on Park Street as a brigade of fire engines, sirens blaring, peeled around the corner. There, riding on the back of the last engine was the man of the hour: Santa Claus. “It’s like Macy’s Thanksgiving parade on a smaller scale,” said Nicola MacEwen. “We’ve never had all of the fire trucks come through before.”
Her daughter, Willow, is now 10. “She’s a little bit older now. And as the Girl Scouts get older, it’s harder for them to come to things like this,” MacEwen said. “But she really enjoys doing the caroling and the hot chocolate is a big seller.”
Daisy, a 2-year-old Bernese Mountain Dog, greeted the man from the North Pole. Mrs. Claus climbed out of the cab of the truck to join her husband for the walk across the common to the gazebo, where the two received a line of children. Santa chatted with the children, or perhaps more to the point, the children chatted with him. Paisley Titman, 9, of Adams, was one of them. She said she enjoyed that moment and was looking forward to the hay ride.
“I love Christmas,” she said.
What’s her favorite part? “Getting presents and being with your family,” she said.
Olivia Fairchild, 17, and a junior at Hoosac Valley High School, was handing out cider doughnuts from Jaeschke’s Orchard. She was there as part of the Hoosac Valley Leos, which she joined this year.
“This is my first time doing the Adams Christmas tree lighting,” she said. “I try to do a little bit of everything in the community that I can. I’m kind of just happy to be here. I love to see the little kids jumping up wanting doughnuts and love seeing Santa and Mrs. Claus. I just think it’s the cutest thing in the world because I would love this when I was a little kid.”
By Jane Kaufman
ADAMS — Snow and rain may have kept some families away, but diehards put on their hats and coats and headed for the Town Common for free hay rides, chats with Santa, Christmas carols, cider doughnuts and hot chocolate with marshmallows on Sunday.
The Adams Holly Days Christmas tree lighting almost didn’t happen this year after its primary sponsor, the Adams Community Bank, decided to support a separate Holly Days event instead, that will take place on Dec. 6. But Select Board member Jay Meczywor put out a call to volunteers who made the lighting happen. Here’s how Debbie Nowicki put it.
“I found that the bank wasn’t doing it,” she said. “I said this is not right. We have to step up and we have to do this. There’s a bunch of volunteers in town that do a lot. It all got pulled together in two nights.”
Meczywor himself was standing on a curb, unfolding a step ladder and helping people in and out of hay rides offered by Alibozek’s Farm, which had two tractors hauling open trailers loaded with square bales large enough to sit on. There was a line for at least the first hour for the rides.
Girl Scouts trundled off the hay ride in time to sing in the gazebo such popular seasonal chestnuts as “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Frosty the Snowman” and “Jingle Bell Rock.” Some swayed as they sang, perhaps at least partly to stay warm in the damp chill.
The Adams forest wardens directed traffic in front of the common, and a DJ played popular Christmas songs.
At 2:30 p.m., all eyes were on Park Street as a brigade of fire engines, sirens blaring, peeled around the corner. There, riding on the back of the last engine was the man of the hour: Santa Claus. “It’s like Macy’s Thanksgiving parade on a smaller scale,” said Nicola MacEwen. “We’ve never had all of the fire trucks come through before.”
Her daughter, Willow, is now 10. “She’s a little bit older now. And as the Girl Scouts get older, it’s harder for them to come to things like this,” MacEwen said. “But she really enjoys doing the caroling and the hot chocolate is a big seller.”
Daisy, a 2-year-old Bernese Mountain Dog, greeted the man from the North Pole. Mrs. Claus climbed out of the cab of the truck to join her husband for the walk across the common to the gazebo, where the two received a line of children. Santa chatted with the children, or perhaps more to the point, the children chatted with him. Paisley Titman, 9, of Adams, was one of them. She said she enjoyed that moment and was looking forward to the hay ride.
“I love Christmas,” she said.
What’s her favorite part? “Getting presents and being with your family,” she said.
Olivia Fairchild, 17, and a junior at Hoosac Valley High School, was handing out cider doughnuts from Jaeschke’s Orchard. She was there as part of the Hoosac Valley Leos, which she joined this year.
“This is my first time doing the Adams Christmas tree lighting,” she said. “I try to do a little bit of everything in the community that I can. I’m kind of just happy to be here. I love to see the little kids jumping up wanting doughnuts and love seeing Santa and Mrs. Claus. I just think it’s the cutest thing in the world because I would love this when I was a little kid.”
We had a great crew come out this evening to help deliver the children of Adams some holiday cheer in the form of Santa, Mrs. Claus and the head elf direct from the North Pole to the town common for its annual tree lighting. Thank you to all of the great community organizations who help to put on the event. Happy Holidays!
RSS Feed
