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 The weather was somewhat cooperative in that
the snow from earlier in the day had stopped and it wasn’t windy.
But BRRR….it was cold! With the temperatures hovering below freezing
there were no bands in this year’s parade, but that didn’t make the
quality of the show any less wonderful.
The theme the parade this year was “Christmas Magic.” The theme was
very well executed in the 75 entries participating. The judges for
the parade noted that some of the decisions they had to make were
pretty difficult.
The Tourism Bureau Choice Award went to the Crossway
Church of Lincoln with its holiday warm gingerbread theme. The
judges agreed that hands down this was the float that should win the
Tourism Award. They loved the structure itself and the decorations
of lollypops, gum drops, the trim on the roof and the white “snow”
on the eaves that actually looked like the icing we all enjoy on
gingerbread houses.
The other choices were not always so easy, but in the end the judges
made the following decisions:
Best Float – Community Action Partnership of Central Illinois.
Best Band – Zion Lutheran Church - chosen because they sang the
entire route and there were no band entries.
Best Adherence to the overall theme – Copper Creek Village.
Other fun entries included an antique John Deere tractor with a cute
driver, and Action Jackson dressed as a Christmas elf with his
decorated lawn mower.
Elaine Aue was at the head of the parade serving as
this year’s Grand Marshal, and the 2018 Logan County Fair Queen
Molly Schempp and Little Miss Logan County Kylee Fulk were smiling
and waving all the way.
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In spite of the cold, a number of people came out for the parade and
afterward more than forty children made their way to the Lincoln
Depot to visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus.
An interesting side story about Santa is that from his mother-in-law
– yes, Santa has a mother-in-law. Each year, Santa’s mother-in-law
works all year long to compile a selection of items that can be
presented to children as they visit Santa at the Lincoln parade.
Items include crochet hats and small toys. Last year those items
were handed out during the parade. This year, they were handed out
at the Lincoln Depot.
Santa’s mother in law, referred to by Santa and the elves as
“Grandma Claus” does this because she wants children to receive a
small gift during their visit, but the elves are so busy making toys
for Christmas that she decided she could help out by doing this and
not placing an additional burden on the elves.
Everyone seemed to enjoy their time at the Lincoln
Depot. The trip to the historic train station was made all the more
pleasant by a group of young adults from Lincoln Christian
University. The students had reached out to Tourism Director Morgan
Gleason and said they wanted to do something special this year. They
wanted to provide hot chocolate and cookies at the depot. It was a
great opportunity for the students to do something of value and it
would definitely benefit those who had been standing outside in the
cold during the parade.
Gleason was delighted to have the young people come, noting that it
is exactly that kind of community involvement that is needed in
order to make any event successful.
The students came out with warm beverages and sweet treats. While
some manned the refreshment area, others stood outside the depot,
opening doors for folks as they came in and greeting everyone with a
warm and happy “Merry Christmas!”
As the night wound down and families began to make their way home,
there was no doubt that the Lincoln Christmas Parade would be a very
nice memory for many.
[Nila Smith]
Post Script: Grandma
Claus is actually Barbara Morgan of Paris. She is Wendy Bell’s
mother (and indeed, Santa's mother-in-law). She is so proud of what
Wendy and “Santa Claus” do for children everywhere, and she wanted
to be a part of their efforts by making and giving gifts for all the
children. Thanks Barbara for your generosity.
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