New Holland community gets a great
start on the holiday season
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[December 07, 2023]
New Holland once again delivered a successful
fun-filled exciting night with their annual Christmas parade and
soup dinner on Saturday, December 2nd.
Twins, Parker (L) and Stella
Landstrom waiting
for the parade to start
The lineup for the parade started at the New Holland
Community Center traveled down Pekin Street, around Vine Street, and
came to a stop in front of the New Holland Fire Protection District
(NHFPD).
The parade started with Norma Juhl as the Grand Marshal and was
followed by 16-20 floats, semi-trucks, tractors, and cool cars and
concluded with Santa’s and Mrs. Claus’s sleigh.
Those participating in the parade practiced their pitching skills
and filled the air with lots of candy, stuffed animals, and Bomba
kids' socks, for all the spectators to fill their bags.
The Best in Parade, winning $100 for first place, went to
Hollander’s 4-H, second place was NH-M Choir winning $75 and the
third-place winner of $50 was the Village Pub.
Once the parade was over and Santa and Mrs. Claus
took their spots inside the NHFPD, people of all ages came in out of
the cold and filled the tables and chairs, with most standing in
line waiting to tell Santa what was on their Christmas list. Even
the Grand Marshal had a few requests.
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New Holland Fire - Nick Yarcho, Caleb
Crawford,
Chad Cleary, Ed Davison, Dusty Eyrse,
and Danny Dean
Front: Cory Bell and Daniel Goin
The NHFPD enjoys helping and bringing the community
together, and for many years has prepared and served the
after-parade meal as a non-profit event. This year they served hot
chili, vegetable soup, hot dogs, and lemonade to the public after
the parade.
Long-time school friends came
together
to share a holiday picture.
Christmas joy was running rampant with kids of all
ages, parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles, singles and couples,
newborns, and even a few animals. Even some of those unpredictable
teenagers stood in line just to get a picture with Santa and their
friends .
Christmas Parade Chairman, Val Goin had plenty of volunteers made up
of people on the NHFPD, their spouses, and people from around the
community who helped with the organization, clean up, and putting
the firehouse back in order.
Goin also noted that there was a community Christmas
light and decoration contest this year with some remarkable entries.
Winners of that contest were the homes of Sharon Wright & Gary
Warren, Chris & Amy Cochran and Valerie & Daniel Goin.
Planning for next year's New Holland Christmas Parade has already
started and will be held on Saturday, December 7, 2024, at 6 p.m.
The New Holland Christmas committee would like to give special
thanks to all that attended, NHFPD for taking care of the food, and
to the following sponsors for the past two years:
• Advanced Foam Insulation
• Agland FS
• AHW LLC
• Brandt Agronomic Services
• Bro-Mac & Sons, Inc.
• Carousel Printing
• Crappy Chicken Productions
• Encompass Grain
• Jennie Dean Mowing
• New Holland Banking Center
• S.K. Davison Inc.
• Shelton Mowing
• Village Pub
• And a very special thanks to John Lorek with Illinois Ability
Sports for the Bomba socks and stuffed animals for the kids.
It doesn’t matter if you are young or old, a canine or an infant
there is just something about Christmas lights and parades, sharing
good food, and watching the thrill of seeing and hearing others melt
on the lap of Santa. We have to believe that in one way or another,
the story of Christmas, the giving, the joy, and the gatherings give
each one of us the hope we crave, a good spirit to share, and the
dreams we need, even if it’s just once a year.
[JA Hodgdon]
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