Jingle Bells

HAGERSTOWN - Like Santa Claus acknowledging his reindeer, Hagerstown Mayor Robert E. Bruchey II called out each light display at City Park just before it illuminated. "The penguin!" On came the lights. "And the skating bear!" The kickoff to Friday's festival was the lighting of a blue spruce donated by Sara Dickey of Hagerstown. It stood at least 20 feet tall, smack in the middle of the lake. "We have the only tree that floats, ladies and gentlemen," quipped NBC25 weatherman Lou Scally, the master of ceremonies.

Waynesboro Human Services serves Thanksgiving dinner By STACEY DANZUSO / Staff Writer, Chambersburg WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- Preparing a traditional Thanksgiving feast for 200 people took about three months, but the Waynesboro Human Services Center's annual dinner went off without a hitch Thursday. It was primarily senior citizens alone for the holiday who filtered into Evangelical Lutheran Church's fellowship hall for two hours to enjoy turkey and all the fixings.

BOONSBORO tiffanya@herald-mail.com About 60 preschoolers in Boonsboro discovered where Santa kept his toy shop. "Is it my turn to go to the toy shop? Is it my turn to pick something out?" asked 4-year-old Abby Graves. A giant elf, really 5-foot-4-inch teacher Tina Morgan, squatted to Abby's level and said, "Yes. " She took Abby by the hand and led her to "Santa's Toy Shop," the decorated hallway of Mt. Nebo Christian Preschool. Students at the private Boonsboro school each will pay a visit to "Santa's Toy Shop" to pick out gifts for their loved ones, said Morgan, the school's kindergarten teacher.

It was a concert that was more than a year in the making. Maryland Symphony Orchestra Executive Director Andrew Kipe said “Home for the Holidays” was scheduled to be performed in December 2009. Then, more than 2 feet of snow blanketed the Hagerstown area and organizers were forced to cancel the show. “We had it all lined up, so we just said, ‘Well, we’ll do it next year,’” Kipe said. “We’re thankful for the good weather this year.

They'd been planning for some of Santa's magic. What they got was Murphy's law. Fort Ritchie Community Center, One Mountain Foundation and PenMar Development Corporation teamed up to sponsor a tree lighting at Fort Ritchie in Cascade. The army used to host such a celebration before the base closed in 1998. Bill Carter, chairman of the board of directors for One Mountain, said the planning committee envisioned a dramatic scene in which children would sing carols around a tree.

Decked out in red velvet and leopard print with jingle bells around her neck, 3-year-old Brooklyn Dunkle awaited Santa's arrival. "He's exciting," she said. "He's, he's ... " As she searched for words to describe him, Jolly Old St. Nick came "Ho-ho-hoing" down the corridor at Valley Mall aboard a train. Flanked by elves and Mrs. Claus and waving to the crowd, he made his way to his red striped chair in the mall's festively decorated center court, known for the holiday season as Valley Mall Junction.

alician@herald-mail.com CLEAR SPRING - The Clear Spring District Historical Association offered a trip back in time Saturday with Plumb Grove by Candlelight. Plumb Grove, a mansion built in 1831 by Jonathan Nesbitt, is on Broadfording Road in Clear Spring. The Clear Spring District Historical Association began restoring the property in 1980. Danny Rohrer, 50, of Boonsboro, a member of the association's board of directors, said the group has offered a holiday open house for the past nine years.

katec@herald-mail.com Retired Army Col. Henry L. Miller knows a thing or two about Christmas at the Miller House, headquarters of the Washington County Historical Society. Born there in 1912, Miller lived in the brick, federal-style townhouse until 1934, when he went off to college at Princeton University. After a long military career and years with Merrill Lynch in Alexandria, Va., Miller returned to Hagerstown in 1979. Miller recalls the Christmases of his youth, the holiday tree and electric train he and his siblings set up in the "little dining room," a room off the home's dining room.

Greencastle is buzzing with holiday happenings beginning with its annual tree lighting on Friday and continuing with Saturday's Christmas Parade. The tree lighting ceremony will begin on the square at 6 p.m. with VerStandig Broadcasting entertaining the crowds with music, according to a news release from the Greencastle-Antrim Chamber of Commerce. Jack Gaughen Realtors of Greencastle will hand out several hundred bags of popcorn to hungry revelers during the festivities. To take the chill off the evening, the Exchange Club of Greencastle will offer free hot chocolate and cookies.

Most don't choose to live in their cars To the editor: A recent article in The Herald-Mail led with, "It could become cheaper to stay in a hotel room than to live in your car. " Living in your car versus a hotel is not a matter of choice, it is a financial hardship. People do not choose to become ill, lose their jobs and lose their homes. They are forced to do it by life circumstances that, but for the grace of God, we could all experience. If you think this is a fair law, step outside tonight about 11 p.m. and sit in your car until the sun comes up in the morning.