The shiny red tinsel poinsettias are mounted on Main Street’s lamp posts and have been since before the opening of firearm deer season. These glittery seasonal blooms are the most recent in Marion’s long history of public Christmas décor. It has long been a tradition in our town to light Main Street and deck the halls by mid November. Among other things, this declares us open and ready for business.
The collective ‘we’ of Marion set several of our public Christmas customs and standards when she was a much younger village. Our way of public decoration has been passed down to us, a kind of collective family tradition.
For many years the approach of Christmas was signaled by the first sighting of the Marion’s crew hanging the village Christmas lights, using a dump truck and loader tractor. The first to appear were the many strings of multi-colored light bulbs, strung across Main Street. This kind of lighting was tremendously popular in small towns everywhere, beginning as the reliable electrification of northern Michigan spread in earnest in the 1930’s.
Main Street’s lamp posts, and we’ve had a few styles, have always been adorned with holiday decoration. For many years we enjoyed fresh evergreen wreaths, lighted evergreen roping and/or small real trees wrapped in large lights. We also had a memorable run from large red and white striped candy canes; crafted from stove pipe. The hometown built beauties were original and immensely popular. We think they were assembled by Don Sible at his hardware. Red and white striping was done elsewhere. These favorites were in use into the 1970’s.
Next were the years of what is called ‘blow mold’ décor. Large red, plastic blown into a mold, lanterns adorned our lamp posts and gave us an ‘old timey’ look. At the same time red fiberglass bells were added to the lights strung across Main. These would be the last of this kind of street decoration as the practice would end before 1990.
After the era of fiberglass bells and red lanterns came a long run of various lighted Christmas related shapes and figures. For a number of year’s angels, snowmen, snowflakes, and the like overlooked Main Street. Nice but unremarkable.
Any mention of our public Christmas displays cannot omit the era of the incredibly large fiberglass Santa. He came to our town, the result of a long and steady fund raising campaign by local folks and supported by various clubs and organizations. His nearly 20 foot presence greeted Marion visitors for nearly twenty years. He enjoyed several vantage points from the Pond to the Fair Grounds before he left us. Time and the elements proved not kind to the jolly old elf and he returned to Frankenmuth on a flatbed truck.
At various times in our past a large live tree was erected on the main corner. In the 1950’s it sat under the sign of the dinosaur at the Sinclair and was strung with many strings of large and colorful C9 lights. Add snow and with lights on the poles and across the street, it all gave Marion a real “It’s a Wonderful Life” kind of feel.
Marion’s traditions continue. They have just adapted to the times. Our community Christmas tree is a live one which grows near the pavilion at the park. The venerable Nativity, which dates to the early blow mold era, has a story a story to tell and roots in our past. Santa has been here and will likely appear again before his ‘big night’.
Now that the red poinsettias and decorated trees have been with us about a month, the cold and occasional snow has made them more at home and more comfortable. In the deepening grayness of early dark, our seasonal charmers brighten Main and remind us that Christmas is approaching. They are a welcome warm glow in the early darkness, just as all of ‘our’ Christmas lighting has been, and a joy for the heart. It is good that some things do not change. Long may our traditions remain merry and bright.