Where are Gainesville’s Christmas displays?

I want to put in my two cents’ worth about the Christmas displays not being put out this year around the square in Gainesville.

Christmas is not a happy time for everyone. A lot of families can’t be together. A lot of people don’t have much, material-wise or food-wise. Sometimes it takes very little – something like seeing colorful Christmas displays on the town square – to help people through the holidays. 

When my children were small, we had great times at Christmas. Cutting our tree, decorating it. For several years, I put up the decorations on the square. Then my kids grew up and left home, as kids do. My son went into the service and couldn’t be home for Christmas. My daughter lived in Branson; it was a busy time and she had to work every Christmas. Then one Christmas holiday, she had a bad headache and couldn’t make it to work on time. She was fired one week before Christmas. But she said, “This will be the first Christmas since my children were born that I can be home for Christmas.” She had a malignant brain tumor and died three days before Christmas. She went home for Christmas.

Now I hate the Christmas holidays because of the memories they hold. I want Christmas to be over. But like a lot of other people, I have my personal reasons to want those Christmas decorations out there on the square and to have that nativity scene showing. Maybe there are a few other grinches like me out there, but a lot of people enjoy those displays and get a lot of pleasure out of them. 
But this year, there were no Christmas displays around the square.

For the past several years Tom and Lynn Bentele and Joe Easterday worked hard to get all the displays up, but since they stepped down from the job, apparently no one could be found to replace them.

The way things are around America today, this year of all years we need the nativity scene on display. I, for one, am truly disappointed in our community’s lack of effort. When I did the decorations, whenever I asked people for help, they pitched in. But you have to ask.

So don’t go to Gainesville to see the decorations this year. Go to Branson. Maybe you can get the Christmas spirit there.

Marilyn Luna Tilley, Gainesville