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Jenny Carmack, John Hicks and Robert Burke get the town of Abingdon ready for Christmas.

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Hanging holiday cheer

By JUSTIN HARMON/Staff

You’ve probably seen the wreathes and lights on the light poles lining Main Street by now.
It happens every year. Like the leaves of fall or the flowers of spring, you can just about set your calendar by them. However, unlike the leaves of fall and the flowers of spring, those decorations don’t just grow out of the poles then wither away at the appropriate time. It’s nothing that magical.
A dedicated crew of men and women, led by the town’s Horticulture and Grounds Supervisor Ann Newman make sure that every year, rain or shine, the town feels festive.
And it’s not easy spreading all that holiday cheer.
According to Newman, the wreathes by themselves weigh 80 pounds and are a pain to lug up onto the hooks that hold them in place, one after another.
“It’s a lot of strain,” said Newman.
The lights, which were made by the town’s Street Department aren’t a walk in the park either. And, of course, they can’t do anything to the poles until they remove the decorations from Memorial Day first.
Newman said it takes a good two days to get all the wreaths and lights hung on the poles. Then the work continues. Each street corner gets its own decoration, including snowmen, sleds, reindeer and a number of other holiday icons.
The whole process of blanketing the town in Christmas takes about a week, according to Newman.
However, there’s even more work to be done before they even think of hanging their first string of light.
Before the actual decorating takes place, they have to unload everything from storage and give it a through once over.
“It takes about a week to check all the lights and bows,” said Jenny Carmack, one of the many dedicated to the job.
The Grounds and Horticulture crew isn’t just responsible for the Christmas decorations, either; they’re also responsible for all the decorations all over town, including flags on Memorial Day, Jack-O-Lanterns on Halloween and flowers in the springtime. They’re also partially responsible for much of the decoration during the festivals, including the sandy streets of the Highlands Festival.
Even though it’s a tough job, the 14 people on the crew unanimously agree that it’s worth it.
“People come to expect flowers and stuff,” said Leeroy Dixson, another member of Newman’s crew. “We enjoy what work we’ve got to do.”
And while one would think that prominent decorations would draw the attention of vandals and cheap-thrills thieves, Newman said that they’ve never had even a little problem with ire aimed at the décor.
“We’re so proud of the people of Abingdon,” she said.
Newman adds that, even though they work hard and do well for themselves each year, she admits it wouldn’t be possible were it not for a group effort on the town’s departments.
“It takes the combined effort of the whole town going together to accomplish what goes together from January to January. Not just one, but all of them,” she said.
Justin Harmon can be reached at 628-7101 or