By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
PEMBERVILLE—Christmas is the perfect season for Pemberville to live up to its reputation as a picture-perfect postcard town.
The holiday season was fully displayed last weekend as the town hosted the annual Christmas in the Village. The business district was bustling as visitors entered the stores to look for gifts and holiday décor and get out of the cold.
Christmas music filled the air as Mr. and Mrs. Claus took a break from their busy pre-holiday hustle and bustle at the North Pole to cheerily stroll downtown Pemberville greeting children and shoppers.
The jolly couple did their best to avoid Ebenezer Scrooge and The Grinch, who grumpily patrolled Front Street amidst the snowflakes.
The Grinch was shooing away the Christmas spirit while Scrooge (alias Dan Baker of Gibsonburg), Bah Humbugged everyone he met, though he admitted it was all an act. He agreed to play the part because one, he loves talking with people, and two, he loves history.
Since he retired in 2014 as a hospital facilities director, Baker has combined his two newfound interests by volunteering at the Rutherford B. Hayes Library and Museums in Fremont and teaching adult education classes at Terra State Community College. Connections at the museum landed him the Scrooge gig, he said.
“Most of the children don’t know who I am or when I ask them if they are Tiny Tim,” he said. However, he still plays the part, looking for Bob Cratchit, his overworked, underpaid clerk who Scrooge swears is avoiding his work responsibilities.
“Be safe and have a happy holiday,” he calls, after reminding visitors that Scrooge changed his miserly ways after meeting the spirits of. Christmas Past, Present and Future.
Happy Christmas Present was the spirit inside the local businesses.
Bill and Kathy Dawn of Point Place traveled south for a Sunday outing, first stopping in Rudolph, Ohio, so their Christmas cards could be mailed with the “Reindeer Station postmark.
To continue the holiday outing, they stopped in Pemberville for the weekend Christmas festivities. “We weren’t looking for anything specific; we just enjoy the holiday feel,” Kathy said.
Janet Schroeder of Gibsonburg wasn’t aware of the holiday happenings in Pemberville on Sunday. She was in town to buy groceries, but when she saw a bustling downtown, she decided to explore.
As she loaded the trunk of her car, Schroeder was pleased with her finds for the day–a few holiday and old-time treasures. She found a beautiful red platter for her holiday table, a vintage cookbook, and jars of hot pepper jelly for holiday appetizers and her favorite orange marmalade.
Her most-prized purchase of the day was a childhood favorite, a Neapolitan Coconut Slice. “I’m not telling anyone, because this will never make it home,” she said as she tucked it safely away for the drive home.
Sara Foos, who was working at Beeker’s General Store, said business had been steady throughout the weekend. The long narrow space was filled with lit trees, ornaments galore, and bags of candy reminiscent of days gone by.
Nedra Sheets was helping in the annex building next to Beeker’s that was filled with vintage ornaments, various snowmen and angel items, and the Scholastic book sale that offered a range of children’s books from picture books to young readers’ books.
“The merchants work together with the village to make Pemberville a place people want to visit at Christmas, during the (Pemberville) fair and throughout the year,” she said. The tremendous support of volunteers is an important part of the town’s welcoming atmosphere, Sheets added.
The Bordner family from Attica, Ohio, are frequent visitors to Pemberville at Christmas. Greg Bordner and his daughter Val especially enjoyed picking their favorite decorated tree at “A Year of Holidays”-themed Festival of Trees, hosted by the Pemberville-Freedom Area Historical Society. They had a tough time choosing one tree among the 14 that were decorated not for Christmas, but for different holidays throughout the year.
“We don’t make it every year,” Greg said, “But it is a holiday activity we try to do as often as we can.” Their first visit was when Val, now 17, was about six months old.
The bare-limbed “dead” Halloween tree, decorated with orange ribbon, ghosts, spiders and vintage masks of Popeye, Wilma Flintstone and a witch, was Greg’s top choice.
Val selected the Valentine’s Day tree with old-fashioned doily Valentines; red, pink and white flowers and balls; and topped with a giant shimmering bow.
Donna and Angie Blausey’s Thanksgiving tree was the first-place vote-getter this year. Bedecked with fall orange and yellow hues, the tree was wrapped in orange crepe paper, dried flowers and foliage with a metallic orange pumpkin at the top.
Susie Rahe’s Fourth of July white tree glowed with red, white and blue decorations including lights, balls and firecracker ornaments. When she agreed to decorate a tree, she chose the Fourth of July because she already had the red, white and blue lights. “At Fourth of July sales this summer, I picked up the other holiday decorations,” she said.
Kathy Panning decorated her tree for Memorial Day. The third-place tree was decorated with American flags, white crosses and red, white and blue ornaments. Additionally, respectfully placed beside the tree were tributes to fallen soldiers.
Also at the Festival of Trees was long-time Pemberville area resident and true-blue advocate Carolyn Borcherding. At 92 years old, she is one of the more senior members of the historical society. Having grown up just a mile outside of the town, Borcherding said, “I love Pemberville and am proud to be here.”
The weekend festivities wrapped up Sunday evening with the illuminated Christmas parade and the lighting of the village Christmas tree.
