LIVE NATIVITY SCENE AT THE LITTLE PONDEROSA Cars full of people streamed through the parking lot at The Little Ponderosa Zoo and Wildlife Rescue on Tuesdy evening (Dec. 16) for the live nativity event, which included some of the zoo’s resident animals, along with actors portraying Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds. - G. Chambers Williams III
Crowds enjoy crafts, music and Santa at Norris Dam State Park
by G. Chambers Williams III
Visitors make ornaments in the Threshing Barn. They are Chassie Humphrey, Jessie Gaines and Shane Morris, standing, and children Evelyn, 7, and Beau Morris, 5. - Emma Jayne Williams
A large turnout was on hand Friday evening for the annual “Christmas in the Park” celebration at Norris Dam State Park.
The event was held at the Lenoir Museum, Gristmill, and Crosby Threshing Barn, along Norris Freeway (U.S. 441) between Andersonville Highway and Norris Dam.
It included children’s crafts, warm drinks, a pie supper auction, live folk music, and Santa Claus in the Lenoir Museum.
Children were able to meet at the bonfire pit in front of the Threshing Barn for three “Read with a Ranger” sessions, where park rangers read Christmas stories.
The Threshing Barn also housed “make your own ornament” stations.
Live music was performed in the Lenoir Museum, along with demonstrations of historic crafts.
Santa in his sleigh, a giant reindeer and more light up this yard in Norris for the Norris Shines event. - G. Chambers Williams III
Many homes and even some businesses throughout Norris are taking part in the annual Norris Shines group’s efforts to make the holidays special through colorful lights and creative yard displays.
Norris Shines also includes a scavenger hunt to bring people out in search of specific items of decoration.
The list includes a “house with 50-plus Santas,” “nine-foot horse in pasture,” “real live deer,” “28 jumbo red and white candy canes along road,” “five nativity scenes,” and “Santa stuck in Christmas tree.”
Information and a scorecard for the scavenger hunt can be found on the Norris Recreation Commission’s Facebook page.
Gwen Coles, state district coordinator, auctioned off quilts for the veteran-honoring nonprofit Quilts of Valor at the Dec. 5 city of Clinton Tree Lighting event. She sold all 27 of them and raised $4,000. - Ben Pounds
The annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony and event returned to the Clinton Community Center this year, while also raising money for two local causes.
A chili cook-off and bake-off held Friday, Dec. 5, raised more than $200 for the Empty Stocking Fund. City Special Events Coordinator Taylor Cullison said the fund helps city employees’ families during difficult times.
“We have used this fund in the past to send flowers or a meal to families who have lost a loved one, or to provide gas cards for families traveling to and from the hospital when someone is ill,” Cullison said. “It also helps parents around the holidays to make sure their children have a good Christmas.”
In the gymnasium, members of Quilts of Valor displayed quilts for a silent auction benefiting local veterans. All 27 quilts sold, raising $4,000.
These SL Tennessee employees gathered outside the Charles Seivers Towers in Clinton on Wednesday afternoon (Dec. 17) to deliver bags filled with gifts for apartment residents, all donated by SL workers. Pictured are Andrea Ellis, Pamela McCloud, George Andis, Amber Brewster, Mitchell Slover, Samantha Smith, Porshia Griffith, Christina Bergeron, Jonathan Dye, Cindy Crabtree, Nathan Luster, Jennifer Allen, Toby Young, Nicholas Edwards, Chrissy Webber and Amy Robbins. - G. Chambers Williams III
SL Tennessee workers helped bring Christmas cheer to Clinton’s Charles Seivers Towers residents last week, delivering individual bags of gifts to each apartment as part of the plants’ “Silver Bells” program.
Residents of each apartment were asked in advance to provide a list of items they would like to have for Christmas, to put on their bell.
The bells were then hung in the break area at SL’s plants on Frank L. Diggs Drive, where employees could take them and buy the items listed on each one, said SL spokesman Steven Brooks.
After the purchased items were brought to the plant, a team of five employees organized them into gift bags, and put the corresponding apartment number on each bag.
Then, beginning at 1 p.m. last Wednesday, a group of SL workers arrived at the towers with 156 gift bags, and proceeded to deliver them to the residents who had submitted lists for their individual bells.
Charlotte Johnson, Joey Smith, Cindy Landon, Mark Garrett, Reginal Copeland, Kelly Johnson, Ronnie Fox, Jay Knapp, Rick Meredith, Scott Rhea, Bryan Hedden, Bill Gallaher, Michael Foster and Rex Lynch in the back row and Katherine Birkbeck, Santa Claus, Amanda Hughes and Bear Stephenson were all on hand for the Clinton Rotary Club’s Christmas with the kids.
The Clinton Rotary Club provided a special event for 20 Clinton City Schools students at the Clinton Community Center on Dec. 9.
The children received gifts and a special celebration with a chance to see Santa Claus and the Grinch.
This year, each child received a bicycle in addition to the usual party and gifts.
Kelly Johnson said the Clinton City School system’s guidance counselors, secretaries and principals work with different organizations involved in charity work and events during the holiday season. She said these staff figure which children in the school system have gotten help from these groups and which children could still need it, adding that the Clinton Rotary Club was just one of many groups pitching in to help students. She said other groups had helped students beyond just these 20.
“We are blessed by a lot of community organizations that come in and help an abundance of our children during the holiday season,” Johnson said.
“Thank you so much to everyone who made our Christmas party a success,” Rotary Club secretary Amanda Hughes said. “That was such a special event to be a part of. Thank you to everyone who volunteered their time to shop for gifts, attend the party, get bikes donated, haul bikes, arrange kids, help with crafts, get pizza, table cloths, drinks, Santa, the Grinch, etc. We could not have done it without everyone’s help.”
