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Written by Ron Swift / Fast Talk
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Saturday, 08 December 2007 |
Downtown decorations, food drives and shopping — they can only mean one thing
One of the really interesting, sometimes challenging, and usually fun times in the newspaper business is the holiday season.
 Ron Swift
It seems that almost everyone’s daily routine changes a bit as Christmas approaches. The steps are quicker (maybe the chilly weather?), the conversations briefer and more to the point, and our schedules change the deeper we get into December.
Nearly a century ago, when Patterson was founded, all of the holiday activities centered on the local churches. (No, I don’t have first-hand information.) There were no downtown decorations or homes with outside lights, no charitable organizations handing out gifts to needy families, and there was no chamber of commerce to promote the holiday buying season.
But traditions were established nearly 20 years later by about 1930. A large pine tree (it’s still there) had been planted on the downtown circle in what was then called Plaza Park. The entire community gathered on an evening shortly before Christmas. The tree lights were lit, carols were sung and gifts donated by local merchants were handed out by Santa Claus to hundreds of children, along with bags of candy and fruit.
By the 1940s, local service clubs (Rotary, Lions and 20-30) took root and were joined a few years later by the Soroptimist Club. All those groups at one time or another contributed to the community’s growing list of holiday projects and celebrations.
My first Christmas in Patterson was in 1962. I vividly recall the office parties, the downtown lights, the private gatherings, the special church performances by choral and drama groups and, above all else, the special free show for the kids on a Saturday afternoon at the Del Puerto Theatre.
By then, the show — actually two showings on the same day to accommodate youngsters throughout the West Side — had become a tradition. Of course, Santa arrived, and Patterson’s volunteer firemen helped him hand out bags of goodies. The entire downtown business community had a hand in the project, which died out a few years later.
One time, the Irrigator published a special tabloid section that included only special services at local churches. Because we wanted photos taken at each church, our staff spent several evenings and Sundays taking pictures of live nativity scenes, some complete with sheep and goats. The photos were taken in advance of actual productions, meaning we attended rehearsals. A great deal of coordination was exercised to get everyone into costume and get the stage and lighting erected and the animals in place.
One night photo, taken with a Polaroid camera, was of the beautiful window at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church. To this day, I drive slowly by Our Saviour’s during the holiday season, still admiring that beautiful window.
As far as challenges go, the holiday season topped them all for the newspaper staff. Decisions had to be made about changing work schedules and deadlines. Depending when in the week the Christmas and New Year’s holidays were observed, our workload often fell on weekends, with large chunks of time off during the middle of the week.
This year is a good example. Dec. 25 and Jan. 1 fall on Tuesdays. When will the work on Wednesday’s Irrigator be completed, and when will it go to press?
May our small-town Christmas traditions survive for future generations to enjoy.
FOR THE SPORTS FAN
We are having a dickens of a time selecting a national football champion in the college ranks, now aren’t we? Everyone has an opinion, and here’s mine.
I think my alma mater, the Iowa State Cyclones, should play LSU for the national title, despite their 3-9 record this fall.
Here’s why: Ohio State lost its only game to Illinois after Iowa had posted a win over the Illini. But early in the season, Iowa State knocked off the Hawkeyes in convincing fashion. Doesn’t this mean the Cyclones are better than Ohio State? Shouldn’t that reasoning count for something?
By the way, here’s a women’s college basketball score you’ve been waiting for:
York (N.Y.) breezed past Rochelle, 75-13, in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicates.
AND FINALLY …
At a meteorological convention several years ago, an American and a Russian named Rudolph got into a fierce argument about the weather.
They almost came to blows before the American’s wife dragged him away, saying:
“Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear!”
Ron Swift is editor/publisher emeritus of the Patterson Irrigator. His column appears weekly in this space.
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