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Happy HolidaysSection A

Your guide to the holidays …

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a2 | Ludington daiLy newS/HaPPy HoLidayS | wedneSday, noVeMBeR 25, 2015

Holiday calendar of events for 2015.

noVeMBeR 26Community thanksgiv-

ing dinner, noon-2 p.m., Emanuel Lutheran Church, 501 E. Danaher St., Ludington

noVeMBeR 28small Business SaturdaysCottville kiCks off its Elf

on a Shelf and Candy Cane Lane promotions in down-town Scottville

aglow on the Avenue holi-day events, downtown Lud-ington (Breakfast with Santa, 9 a.m.-noon, Old Hamlin; holiday craft show, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Ludington Area Center for the Arts, 107 S. Harrison St.; Small Business Saturday,

11 a.m.-7 p.m., shopping in downtown Ludington; Christ-mas tree lot, 11 a.m.-8 p.m., James Street Plaza; holi-day market, 4-7 p.m., James Street Plaza; pre-parade warmup, 4-6 p.m., Luding-ton Library; holiday parade, 6 p.m., downtown Ludington; visit with Santa after parade, Sandcastles Children’s Mu-seum)

Festival oF Lights, Pentwa-ter (Advent Market and craft fair, St. Vincent’s Hall, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Pentwater Merchant open houses, noon-6 p.m.; Christmas stories at Story-book Village, 3-6 p.m.; meet Santa, cookies and hot choc-olate, 5 p.m.; carolers 5 p.m.; horsedrawn carriage rides, 5 p.m.; Pentwater Alumni bas-ketball game, 6 p.m.)

deceMBeR 2RotaRy holiday auc-

tion, 6-9 p.m., Lincoln Hills Golf Club, Ludington (Photo above.)

deceMBeR 3sleighBell weekend,

Manistee (A Lilliputian Christ-mas, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Manistee Historical Museum; James Dempsey Mansion tours, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m.; cigar tasting, 5 p.m., Surroundings)

Continued…

Plenty to do this holiday season

There are plenty of chances to meet Santa, share a Christmas wish and take a photo.

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Manistee (A Lilliputian Christ-mas, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Manistee Historical Museum; Cookie decorating, 11-8 p.m., Man-istee Inn and Marina; Festival of Trees, 1-8 p.m., Ramsdell Theatre Ballroom; James Dempsey Mansion tours, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m.; For the Love of Children and Choco-late Sleighbell Chocolate Shop, 3-7 p.m., 318 River St.; Brass Ensembles, 5 p.m., 390 River St.; Downtown Man-istee soup cook-off, 4-6:30 p.m., results 7 p.m.)

deceMBeR 5santa’s woRkshop, 11

a.m. to 2 p.m., pictures with Santa, Christmas crafts, story-time with Mrs. Claus, games, mail letters to Santa, Christ-mas cookies, and all children on the nice list leave with a special gift from Santa, Flora-Craft, 1 W. Longfellow Place, Ludington (enter from Har-rison Street)

manistee old Christmas Weekend (Jingle Bell Jog 5k run/walk, 10 a.m., Kennedy Elementary, registration $22; Sleighbell Bazaar and Craft Show, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Man-istee High School; A Lillipu-tian Christmas, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Manistee County Historical Museum; Lumberjack lun-cheon, cookie decoration, 11 a.m.- 1 p.m., First Congrega-tional Church, $8 per person; Cookie decorating, 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Manistee Inn and Ma-rina; carriage rides down River St., noon-4 p.m., 356 River St.; For the Love of Children and Chocolate Sleighbell Choco-late Shop, noon-7 p.m., 318 N. River St.; historic tour of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, noon-2 p.m. 313 Fourth St.; Festival of Trees, 1-8 p.m., Ramsdell Theater Ballroom; James Dempsey Mansion tours, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m.; brass ensemble, 1:30 p.m.,

390 River St.; Christmas Tea at the Buckley, 2-4 p.m., 450 Ce-dar St.; Santa’s Headquarters, 2-5 p.m., Manistee Municipal Marina; Reindeer “Meet and Greet,” 3-5 p.m., 378 River St.; Jingle Mingle, 4:30 p.m., Ramsdell Inn, $50; Roasted chestnuts, 4:30-7:30 p.m., downtown Manistee on River St.; Merry trombones, 4:30 p.m., 390 River St.; Victorian sleighbell parade, 5:30 p.m., River St., downtown Man-istee; fireworks after parade; Jingle Bell Jam concert, 6:30 p.m. doors open, 7 p.m. start, Manistee Eagles Aerie No. 1675, 55 Division St.)

Fountain ChRistmas celebration, 5-7 p.m., Village of Fountain, Santa arrives to light the tree at 5:15 p.m.


Manistee (A Lilliputian Christ-mas, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Manistee County Historical Museum; festival of trees, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Ramsdell Theatre Ball-room; James Dempsey Man-sion tours, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m.; Lessons and Carols, 3 p.m., Trinity Lutheran Church, 420 Oak St.)

ChRistmas By Candlelight, 7 p.m., Centenary United Methodist Church, 82 S. Han-cock St., Pentwater

deceMBeR 9Coping with the holidays,

1-2:30 p.m., Hospice of Michi-gan, 5177 W. US 10, ste. 2, Ludington

deceMBeR 11sCottville kids Christmas

party, 1-3 p.m., games, bal-loon animals, stories, Opti-mist Hall.

deceMBeR 19home FoR Christmas, 6:30

p.m., free concert, Ludington Area Center for the Arts, 108 S. Harrison St., Ludington

deceMBeR 24Community dinneR, 4 to 6

p.m. Radiant Church, 409 S. Washington Ave., Ludington

deceMBeR 25meRRy ChRistmas

deceMBeR 28, 29, 30 speCial holiday hours,

9:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Sandcastles Children’s Museum, 129 E. Ludington Ave., Ludington

deceMBeR 31new yeaR’s Eve party, 5-8

p.m., Sandcastles Children’s Museum, 129 E. Ludington Ave., Ludington. $35 per fam-ily or $10 per person

new yeaR’s Eve ball drop, events begin at 9:30 p.m. James Street clock tower

Holiday events 2015 continued

Santa’s Workshop is Dec. 5 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at FloraCraft.

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The Village of Fountain welcomes Santa Saturday, Dec. 5 during an evening that also features lighting of the big Christmas tree next to the fire station, caroling, a live nativity and hot choc-olate and enough cookies to satisfy even the hungriest Cookie Monster.

According to Shirley Chan-cellor, the 5 to about 7 p.m. event will be much like the successful one last year with Santa ar-riving, most likely by fire truck, at 5:15 p.m. He will light the tree and then meet with children to hear their Christ-mas wishes. Mrs. Claus is expected to accompany Santa.

The popular miniature horse and sleigh will be on hand with what Chan-cellor describes as another surprise.

Victory Baptist Church will present a live nativity during the event.

Coffee, hot chocolate, and “cookies,

cookies, cookies” will be available in the Fountain Fire Department station.

Community members bake dozens and dozens of cookies for the event. Any leftovers are added to bags the fire department and auxiliary put to-gether for shut-ins in the community. “For the elderly people that are alone it’s a nice thing,” Chancellor said.

“It’s got a community feel to it and that’s what we wanted to keep,” Chan-cellor said.

Community Christmas celebrations

Santa to light Fountain treeSanta will meet with children after the tree is lighted in Fountain on Dec. 5

Cookies galore at Fountain event. And the miniature horse will be back.

Ludington will be Aglow on the Avenue

Aglow on the Avenue takes place Saturday, Nov. 28, in downtown Ludington.

Events include breakfast with Santa from 9 a.m. to noon at Old Hamlin Restau-rant (bring your camera and take a photo) and concludes with the holiday parade through downtown at 6 p.m.

After the parade Santa heads to Sandcastles Chil-dren’s Museum to meet with kids (another bring your camera event).

Santa, who will arrive in a horse drawn carriage, will stop on the Aglow on the Av-enue parade route to light the community Christmas tree in the James Street Pla-za.

The Shop With a Cop cam-paign will be handing out chili donated by local busi-nesses for a donation to the program that has local law enforcement taking kids in need shopping for Christ-mas. Chili serving begins at 5:30 p.m. in front of Sports-man’s Restaurant.

Nov. 28 is also Small Busi-ness Saturday with down-town shopping from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Consumers are urged to visit local mer-

chants and see what small businesses have to offer. “When you shop local, more than 50 percent of the mon-ey stays in the communi-ty,” Jen Tooman, downtown communications and mar-keting manager, said. Stores have been encouraged to decorate. A contest was held for the best decorated win-dow. Participants were to reveal their windows, which in recent days had been pa-pered over, on Nov. 25.

You can pick out your Christmas tree that day at a special Christmas tree lot in the James Street Plaza from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Local grow-er Needlefast Farms will be selling their trees.

The plaza is also the site of an open air market, weather permitting, from 3 to 7 p.m. that will feature four crafters offering paint-ings, art, Christmas orna-ments and Christmas dec-orations. From noon to 4 p.m., three acoustic acts will play Christmas music in the plaza, again as long as it doesn’t rain — snow is OK, Tooman said.

Continued …

Twenty-eight Michigan crafters are expected at this year’s Holi-day Craft Show at the Ludington Area Center for the Arts Nov. 28

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Ludington’s Aglow on the Avenue parade is Saturday, Nov. 28 at 6 p.m.

Continued …

Tooman will set up a Lud-ington Downtown booth in plaza which will be giv-ing away 400 canvas shop-ping bags. Inside each will be am entry form for a prize package worth $1,000 from downtown businesses. Get another entry form with re-ceipt from the dining or shopping purchases down-town now through Dec. 12.

LACA CRAFT SHOWThe Ludington Area Cen-

ter for the 7th Annual Arts Holiday Craft Show fea-tures 28 Michigan artists and crafters from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the center, 107 S. Harrison Street.

The show has been re-vamped with exhibitors in the main gallery, vestibule lobby, and downstairs room and hall.

In addition, the tradition-al Resale Shoppe will be lo-cated in the performance hall this year. The LACA Gift Shop will also be open.

Participating artists and crafters are coming from

Branch, Shelby, Muskegon, Cadillac, Hesperia, Kalam-azoo, Lansing, Reed City, Clare, Baldwin, Hart, Fruit-port, and Ludington. Media include paintings, artwork, photography, soy soaps and lotions, soy candles, carved eggshells, goats milk soaps, honey, maple syrup, birch designs, jewelry, character hats, puzzles, mittens, au-thors, fiber art, and wood. Admission to the craft show is a $1 donation.

LeTTeRS TO SAnTADowntown Ludington and

the Ludington Daily News have teamed up for a Letters to Santa effort. Have your child or grandchild drop a letter off in the red mail-box next to Spindrift Cycle in the James Street Plaza and they’ll receive a letter back from Santa. How cool is that?

Ludington’s highly popu-lar New Year’s Eve Ball Drop countdown party begins at 9:30 p.m. Dec. 31 downtown and concludes with fire-works after midnight. (See related story in section B.)

Letters to Santa dropped in this box next to Spindrift Cy-clesports in the James Street Plaza will be answered by Santa.

Aglow on the Avenue

Ludington’s community tree is in the James Street plaza.

A6

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Oh, Christmas tree …Real trees still a tradition for many

BY KeVIn BRACISZeSKIdaiLy newS StaFF wRiteR

Real Christmas trees fill many American homes with evergreen smells

during the holiday season, but most Christmas presents are again expected to be placed under artificial trees this year.

Mason County grower Jim Nickelson, however, does raise and sell thousands of real trees each year.

Nickelson owns Needlefast Evergreens on Hansen Road and raises trees on about 300 acres. He sells most of his trees wholesale, although he also sells locally from his Hansen Road location.

He sold about 19,000 trees in 2013, about 20,000 in 2014 and expects to sell 22,000 to 23,000

trees this year.The market is real good right

now,” Nickelson said. “Part of that is there are fewer growers.”

His main competition comes from North Carolina, which Nickelson said was oversup-plied with Fraser firs — his most popular tree — during the past few years.

“North Carolina was oversup-plied the last three or four years but now they’ve gone through it so the supply is not exceeding demand now,” he said.

He estimated that 80 percent of his sales are Fraser firs, which he said are very fragrant and have good needle retention.

Fraser fir sales for Needlefast are followed by Douglas firs and balsam firs for 8 percent each and Scotch pines for 2 percent with spruce trees making up

only a small portion of his sales.Nickelson said he usually

starts cutting trees after seven years and tries to clear parcels within 10 years.

Most of his Mason County trees are sold wholesale and shipped as far west as Omaha, Nebraska, and as far south as San Antonio, Texas. Nickelson said he does ship trees into Ohio and northern Kentucky, although he faces competition in the east because of the North Carolina growers.

He ships those wholesale trees in November because his customers want them to arrive a couple days before Thanksgiv-ing.

Nickelson said this year’s weather was nicer than last years, especially for harvesting.

“It was a little warm one week,

but compared to last year, it was a dream,” he said.

MICHIgAn TReeSThe state ranks in third place

for production of Christmas trees with about 2 million sold each year, according to Jill O’Donnell, education officer for the Michigan State University Extension. Oregon is the top pro-ducer with 6.5 million trees and North Carolina produces 4.3 mil-lion trees.

O’Donnell said there are 560 Christmas tree farms in Michi-gan covering about 27,000 acres.

Oceana County ranks high in the state with 2,000 acres of tree farms. Manistee County has about 1,000 acres while Mason County has 600 acres and Lake County has 110 acres.

Another tradition is outdoor Christmas dec-orations and lighting displays. Some area residents go all out.

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• Make sure your tree is well supplied with water. This will keep it fresh and fire resistant.

• A tree can absorb up to a gallon of water within its first 24 hours, so make sure you use a stand that holds at least that amount of water.

• Before you put the tree in its stand, make a straight cut across the base of the trunk. The tree will drink more.

• Make sure your stand is filled with water. Sap will form over the stump within six hours and it will prevent the tree from absorbing wa-ter. If this happens, you will need to make another cut at the base of the stump.

• Make sure your tree is

away from any home ap-pliance or area that causes heat or drafts. This includes fireplaces, radiators, vents and entertainment compo-nents, such as televisions and stereos.

• Do not decorate your tree with any material that is flammable, such as paper and cotton. Also, keep your tree away from burning can-dles and other open flames.

• Make sure the lights you plan to place on your tree are in working order. Also be sure not to overload your electric outlets.

• Be sure to unplug the lights before you leave your tree unattended.

— information provided by doityourself.com

Tips for keeping Christmas trees fresh

A8


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Happy Holidays Section B

Here comes Santa Claus ....Santa Express coming to town Dec. 14For the eighth year, Marquette Rail will be bringing Santa and

Mrs. Claus to communities along its line, where they will hand out candy to good girls and boys from the Santa Express.

Children (and adults) of all ages are welcome. Marquette Rail has again partnered with Jim Nickelson’s Christmas trees of Ludington to help distribute trees at each stop to lucky draw-ing winners who have been pre-selected.

Marquette Rail will operate its eighth annual Santa Express on Saturday, Dec. 14, between Grand Rapids, Ludington and Man-istee, following the schedule.

The train begins in Comstock Park and ends its run in Man-istee, with stops at:

• Bitely, arriving at 1:35 p.m. and leaving at 1:45 p.m. (Main Street crossing)• Baldwin, arriving at 2:05 p.m. and leaving at 2:25 p.m. (Baldwin Depot/off Astor Road)• Scottville, arriving at 3:15 p.m. and leaving 3:30 p.m.

(Main Street crossing)• Ludington, arriving at 3:50 p.m. and leaving at 4:15 p.m.

(First Street crossing)• Fountain, arriving at 5:20 p.m. and leaving at 5:45 p.m.

(Main Street crossing)• Free Soil, arriving at 6:05 p.m. and leaving at 6:20 p.m.

(Free Soil Road crossing)• Stronach, arriving at 6:40 p.m. and leaving at 6:55 p.m. (Main Street crossing)• Manistee, arriving at 7:20 p.m.. and leaving at 7:35 p.m. (River Street crossing)

A special publication of the Ludington Daily News

Happy HolidaysSection B

New Year’s Eve Ball Drop in Ludington

Victorian Manistee

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B2 | Ludington daiLy newS/HaPPy HoLidayS | wedneSday, noVeMBeR 25, 2015

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Ludington’s highly popular New Year’s Eve Ball Drop countdown party begins at

9:30 p.m. Dec. 31 downtown and concludes with fireworks after midnight.

In between is a very social time in downtown Ludington, with music, a roped off area that’s family friendly and open to enjoying beer and wine pur-chased on site.

The New Year’s Eve commem-orative glass and tokens pack-age is available to purchase online at downtownludington.org/nye.

TheLudington Beverage sponsored entertainment tent in the James Street Plaza will have beer and wine for sale. An area will be roped off for the event. Pure Ludington and the Convention and Visitors Bureau sponsor the event. A lot of shops will be open with late hours Dec. 31.

Excitement grows as the eve-ning progresses. The lighted, color-changing ball hangs from a crane over the intersection of Ludington Avenue and James Street. A clock on Luciano’s Ristorante nearby runs down to midnight.

As the midnight hour nears, the crowd swells around the in-tersection below the ball. As the ball begins its descent, excite-ment increases and the final 10 seconds are counted down by everyone present.

When the ball touches the ground and the Happy 2016 message flashes, fireworks are shot off from above Sports-man’s.

Many people mill around and take selfies in front of the ball, still lighted, to bring the night to a close.

“It started out as an event for the locals and it’s really grown,” Jen Tooman, downtown com-munications and marketing manager, said.

“People travel here for it now.

You look at the picture of all those people watching the ball drop ... everyone is having a grand time. It’s a fun event, a warm, fuzzy feeling in a small town.”

With a nod to it being winter, she added, “sometimes you need to have to make your own warm.”

There will also be a New Year’s Eve party, Dec. 31 from 5-8 p.m., at Sandcastles Chil-dren’s Museum, 129 E. Luding-ton Ave., Ludington. $35 per family or $10 per person.

New Year’s DaY resolutioN ruNOn New Yea’rs day is the 5k

New Year’s Resolution Run at a 11 a.m. at North Star Chiroprac-tic on South James.

New Year’s Eve Ball Drop

It’s Pure Ludington, for sure

When the colored lighted ball touches down on Ludington Avenue at James Street at midnight marking the New Year, fireworks are shot off over downtown Ludington.

Crowds start lining up around the intersection of James Street and Lud-ington Avenue as midnight approaches.

A3

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We will be Downtown at the James St Plaza on Small Business Saturday.

November 28th

Opening Nov. 27th!

BY BriaN MulheriNdaiLy newS Staff wRiteR

If you love someone who loves the outdoors, the best gift you can give is

the gift of warm, dry feet.In my book, it doesn’t get

better than a quality wool-blend sock like SmartWool socks. They might seem pricey compared to the bun-dles of six pairs of “hunting socks” at the big box stores, but they’re head and shoul-ders above most anything else out there.

What follows are a list of some of my other sugges-tions for Christmas gifts.

•Gloves. It’s no fun having cold hands, no matter the activity. I have one pair of gloves on my Christmas list — again — this year. They’re called Kast Steelhead gloves and they’re the warmest, most water-proof gloves you’re likely to find.

•Flashlights are a big deal. If you’re a hunter or an an-gler, a good, bright compact flashlight can be a lifesaver. I know it’s a budget buster

to spend $100 or more on a light, but if you have to track a deer, take a hook out of a flopping salmon’s mouth or find your way out of the woods, you’ll realize that the new-generation LED flash-lights are incredibly good and absolutely worth it. I’ve got an Olympia RG850 and I won’t leave home without it when I’m hunting or night fishing.

• While it might seem cool to have all your books on your phone, I’m still a guy who likes to turn the pages on a real book now and then. This year I’ve had three good ones come across my desk: “Hunting Northwoods Bucks” by Steve Heiting, “A Walk in the Animal King-dom” by Jerry Dennis and the 20th Anniversary Edi-tion of “Great Michigan Buck Tales Vol. 1” by Richard P. Smith.

• We may not get much ice this year, but that’s no

reason to use sub-standard equipment. If you’re tired of your worn out spring-bob-ber not staying in place on your favorite ice rod, try an Ice Strong Titanium Spring Bobber. They might seem pricey, but they’ll hold up to all the panfish you can find, year after year.

• Although it’s winter, it’s never too early to think about open water fishing. First, we may have an ex-tended trolling season for steelhead locally, which means that Flatfish and Kwikfish lures should be in every angler’s stocking. Looking ahead to spring, pick up some quality fishing spoons from local compa-nies. Two of my favorites are Yeck’s Fireball (with ear-rings) and Dreamweaver’s Mixed Veggie SS. Both will catch plenty of brown trout and steelhead for the angler in your family. You can also never go wrong with a Ra-pala F11 Minnow in silver and black, silver and blue, silver and chartreuse or gold and black.

The Ludington Area Jay-cees are selling Koeze Nuts. Pick up a catalog at Brenda’s Specialty Burger, 124 S. Main St., Scottville; Big Boy Restau-rant, 5275 W. U.S. 10, Lud-

ington; or Ludington Area Catholic Fall Arts and Crafts Show on Nov. 21 at St. Simon Church Family Center, 700 E. Bryant Road. Buyers can also call Tina Holey at (231)

398-8566 or e-mail [email protected] for a catalog. Thanksgiving orders must be received by Nov. 16 and Christmas orders by Dec. 14 for on-time delivery.

Jaycees selling Koeze Nuts

An outdoors enthusiast’s list

Wreaths Across America

The American Legion Post 76 Riders will be plac-ing wreaths on area vet-erans’ graves on Dec. 12. The event, part of Wreaths Across America Day, will be commemorated by a memo-rial ceremony at noon Dec. 12 at the veterans’ memori-al wall at Oak Grove Funeral Home and Cremation Cen-ter.

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Santa Claus will arrive in Pentwater on Saturday, Nov. 28, escorted to the

Village Green by the Pent-water Fire Department at 5 p.m. during the Festival of Lights. Santa will be avail-able for visits and photos immediately following his arrival. Parents are encour-aged to bring a camera for photographs with Santa Claus.

This event offers a great chance for free family fun while shopping for holiday gifts.

There will be carolers from the local churches singing Christmas songs. The tree inside the band shell will be decorated by the local Girl Scouts Troop. Hot chocolate and cook-ies will be provided from Hansen Foods and Fudge & Frosting. Free horse drawn carriage rides will be

available to transport you, your family and friends up and down Hancock Street. Christmas stories will be told at Storybook Village from 3-6 p.m.

The Pentwater Athletic Boosters will host its annual alumni games at Pentwater

Public Schools to help raise money for local athletes. The ladies’ game will start at 6 p.m. with the men’s game immediately to follow.

The annual Merchants Open Houses take place Sat-urday, Nov. 28 from 12 to 6 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 29,

from 12-4 p.m. Pentwater contains a myriad of locally owned retail shops, galleries and restaurants that give the area a distinct flair. While shopping in Pentwater, make sure to check out the holiday decorations. Down-town businesses will have participated in a Storefront Decorating Contest and win-ners will be announced on social media Nov. 27.

November 28 schedule 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Advent

Market and Craft Fair at St. Vincent’s Hall

12-6 p.m. Pentwater mer-chant open houses

3-6 p.m. Christmas sto-ries at Storybook Village

5 p.m. Meet Santa, cookies and hot chocolate

5 p.m. Carolers5 p.m. Horse drawn car-

riage rides6 p.m. Pentwater alumni

basketball game

Festival of Lights in Pentwater

Santa greets children in the Village Green gazebo with the Pent-water channel leading to Lake Michigan in the background.

Free carriage rides through Pentwater are offered on Nov. 28.

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Now that Thanksgiving is at hand, more and more outdoor Christmas lights displays like this one on Dennis Road north of U.S. 10 from last year likely will be appearing.

Look for Elves in Scottville

Spectrum Ludington Lights and Love holiday tree The holiday

season is often a time to remem-ber and reflect on the special people who have touched our lives. This year, honor or remem-ber loved ones by placing a light on Lights and Love Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital holiday tree. The tree will be located on the south lawn of the hospital.

A minimum donation of

$20 purchases one 2-inch globe light and once honor-ary or memorial name listing.

Names of those honored or remembered will be rec-ognized on the City of Lud-

ington digi-tal sign, on the hospi-tal’s website, in the hos-pital’s main lobby and local media outlets.

Your light will glow

from Nov. 30 through Jan. 11, but your donation will last a lifetime as it impacts the families in our commu-nity. All gifts will benefit the Family Birthing Center.

Scottville kicks off its Elf on a Shelf and Candy Cane Lane pro-motions in downtown Scottville on Saturday, Nov. 30 as part of Small Business Saturday.

Elves will be placed in various stores, in dif-ferent places and when people come in to shop they can look for the elf and get an entry into the drawing

The tree lighting is

Thursday, Dec. 3. The time was not deter-mined by press time. Look in the regular edi-tion of the Ludington Daily News for the lat-est information.

The Scottville Opti-mist Club will hold its annual party with San-ta at the Optimist Hall from 1 to 3 p.m. Sat-urday, Dec. 12, with games, balloon animals and stories.

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Victorian Sleighbell and Old Christmas

Weekend takes one back in time

MANISTEE — “Step back in time as you take part in one of Michigan’s most unique holiday celebrations,” is how the Manistee DDA describes the Dec. 3 through 6 Victori-an Sleighbell and Old Christ-mas Weekend in downtown Manistee.

The highlights include the Victorian Sleighbell Parade with horse drawn entries, bagpipers, dog sled teams and carolers dressed in Vic-torian style attire. The high-light of the highlights of the parade are the draft horses

pulling a 30-foot Christmas tree down River Street fol-lowed by a display of fire-works.

Other Old Christmas Weekend events include the Festival of Trees, “Joseph

and the Amazing Technicol-or Dream Coat” at the His-toric Ramsdell Theatre and guided tours of a historic 1894 lumber baron mansion and the remarkable Rams-dell Theatre.

Rekindling Victorian memories in Manistee

The traditional communi-ty Christmas dinner has a lot of changes this year.

The free event is for every-one and will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 24

at Radiant Church, 409 S. Washington Ave., Ludington.

If you are homebound and would like to have a meal de-livered, call or email the Ra-diant Church office by Dec.

22 to place your order, 845-9596, [email protected].

Radiant Church will also be hosting a candlelight Christmas Eve worship ser-

vice at 6:30 p.m. and it is open for all to attend.

Volunteers are needed for the dinner, from prep work, cooking, serving, delivering food to hosting and clean-

ing. Call or email the church to get involved.

Previously, the community Christmas dinner was held on Christmas Day at Eman-uel Lutheran Church. That

dinner no longer will take place and volunteers and those who were planning on the traditional meal are be-ing directed to this Christ-mas Eve event.

Community Christmas dinner moves to Dec. 24 at Radiant Church

Santa makes an elegant arrival during the non-motorized Sleighbell Parade on River Street in Manistee Dec. 5.

After the Sleighbell parade ends and the tree that travels the route is lighted on River Street near the fountain at the western side of downtown Manistee, there’s caroling followed by fireworks.

Roasted chestnuts are distributed on River Street as part of the festivities leading up the parade.

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If you’re shopping for something a bit unique, that says something about where you live, consider a locally written book.It’s been a good few years for history buffs.

SEE NExT paGE

Give a local book

Inside

Toys regain popularity. Page C5

Decorating ideas. Page C6

Making your tree unique. Page C7

Happy HolidaysSection C

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C2 | Ludington daiLy nEwS/HaPPy HoLidayS | wEdnESday, noVEMBEr 25, 2015

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“JuSTuS S. STEarNS: MiCHiGaN piNE KiNG aNd KENTuCKy COal BarON, 1845 – 1933.”

Mike Nagle, West Shore Community College profes-sor of history and polical sci-ence, released a well written, well-documented, well-re-ceived and interesting book, “Justus S. Stearns: Michigan Pine King and Kentucky Coal Baron, 1845 – 1933.”

Published by Wayne State University, the book tells the life of this local business icon who made fortunes in lumber here before ex-panding into coal mining in Kentucky where the town Stearns, Kentucky, bears his name.

Stearns left a large mark on Ludington and Mason County, too, through his philanthropy. In essence, he provided the land for Lud-ington’s showcase beach, Stearns Park. He also do-nated his home to be Mason County’s first hospital, Pau-lina Stearns Hospital, named after his wife.

Nagle paints a picture of Stearns as an example of the transition of America from an economy mostly based on extracting resources such as lumber and coal to a manufacturing economy.

Stearns had parts or owned several local industries in-cluding a motor company, Carrom, and he formed a

power company that drove down electrical costs in the community.

SEE NExT paGE

Justus Stearns gave Ludington great gifts, why not give his story?

Mike Nagle with his biography of Justus Stearns.

“MaSON COuNTy: 1850-1950”On Oct. 26, Petersen’s lat-

est book in Arcadia Publish-ing’s Images of America se-ries will be released. “Mason County: 1850-1950” touches on the history of the county from about the time settlers began arriving to the start of the more modern era, Pe-tersen said.

“We’re looking at vintage photos so it’s a good span of time to take a look at,” Pe-tersen said.

The Images of America se-ries is a picto-rial approach and Petersen has combed his collection, shared photos from others and filled out the 130-page, $21.99 trade paperback book with im-ages he felt he needed from the collection of the Mason County Historical Society.

“I tried to touch on every-thing could in Mason Coun-ty,” he said.

Online, the book can be or-dered at Petersen’s black-creekpress.com, from the Windowsill Book Store on South James Street, and at Book Mark on the corner of South Rath and Loomis.

Peterson also has pub-lished “Ludington Carfer-ries” and “Oceana County 1850-1950” through the same Images of America se-ries. Plus, he has other books he’s done available on his website.

Windowsill and BookMark carry other local Images of America books.

WEdNESdayS iN THE MiTTENThe father and son photo

team of Todd and Brad Reed this summer published the spectacular fine art photog-raphy book “Todd and Brad Reed’s Michigan, Wednesday in the Mitten.”

The 250 images in the book are gleaned from the more than 28,000 images the two made on the 53 Wednesdays of the 2014. Fifty -three because the year started and ended on a Wednesday. The photog-raphers used the Ludington Ball Drop as their book-ends for an exploration of the Great Lakes State that took them from Rochester in southeastern Michigan to the Eben Ice Caves and beyond in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

There are many imag-es of their West Michigan home base, but because of tips and suggestions from friends and people they’ve met, along with their knowl-edge and interest in places in Michigan, they traveled to locations around the state at times when those places might be seen at their best.

Where they went with their Nikon 800D cameras and well developed eye for striking photos are docu-mented in the images that made it into the book, the fourth since they started

teaming up and doing books while running their down-town Ludington gallery.

Like their award winning and successful, “Tuesdays with Todd and Brad Reed,” “Wednesdays in the Mit-ten” contains photographs shot solely on one day of the week throughout 2014. On about half of the Wednes-days father and son worked

together. On the other half each went solo.

The Reeds also still have paperback copies of “365, A Year in the Photographic Life of Todd and Brad Reed.”

Purchase the book at the Todd and Brad Reed Gal-lery on Ludington Aveneue in downtown Ludington, or order it off their website, www.toddandbradreed.com

THE STOry OF ludiNGTONFew have so closely

watched Ludington histo-ry as Paul S. Peterson. The former managing editor of the Ludington Daily News had a front-row seat at the newspaper for 42 years of the community’s history in the second half of the 20th century. A former president and board member of the Mason County Histori-cal Society, and a for-mer board member of the Luding-ton library who now is in his 12th year on Ludington City Council, the life-long resi-dent of Ludington has long been keen on the communi-ty’s history.

In 2011, the Mason County Historical Society announced the release of its latest publication, “The Story of Ludington,” written by Peterson.

The book is the first comprehensive narrative history of Ludington ever published, covering the ex-ploration and settlement of the community from 1675 through present day. It is available for purchase at the Historic White Pine Vil-lage Gift Shop, online as a featured item at the Mason County Historical Society’s webstore, www.mchsstore.org, and also at the Scottville

& Ludington Area Chamber of Commerce office at 3500 W. U.S. 10, and the Epworth museum. The price is $30 plus tax.

SaNdHill MiST, SEaSONS ON a CENTENNial FarM

“Sandhill Mist, Seasons on a Centennial Farm” is a col-lection of beautifully written and evocative describing life on a centennial Mason County farm.

It’s not a history book in the sense of the oth-ers, but in a way it is. Rosenow writes about farm chores, nature, food, and so much more in terms that paint word pic-tures as vivid as the pho-tography of Todd and Brad Reed.

It’s not in many poetry books one can read a beauti-fully written poem about the realities of life on a farm.

Rosenow, a member of the Ludington Writers group, turns her attention to every-thing from the seasons of the moon to mice stealing food and chickens losing their heads.

There are many other locally writ-ten books. Check out the selection of local and Michigan autors on display at BookMark and windowsill.

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wEdnESday, noVEMBEr 25, 2015 | Ludington daiLy nEwS/HaPPy HoLidayS | C3

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Every year, the holidays introduce a variety of sea-sonal dynamics into the al-ready complicated work-place. A time for celebration can quickly turn into confu-sion, whether attempting to accommodate a growing list of after-hours personal and business festivities or inter-preting the often-blurred lines of colleague and man-agement gift-giving.

Dr. Jenny Tatsak, profes-sor of business communi-cations at Walsh College, of-fers three recommendations to navigate the workplace this holiday season, while keeping etiquette in check:

1. Use holiday parties to build relationships and make a positive

impressionAdding an office holiday

celebration to an already jam-packed calendar of re-citals, cookie exchanges and white elephant parties can be difficult for some people, but unless you have a sig-nificant family obligation, you should definitely attend. “View the party as an oppor-tunity to get to know col-leagues and the company’s leadership informally,” said Dr. Tatsak. “Also, consider mentally preparing a few topics to discuss through-out the evening to maximize the value of each interaction. You may be surprised by the useful insights you gain from others when you en-gage with them in an infor-mal setting.”

In addition, remember that even though the event is less formal, your behav-ior while there is still a re-

flection of your profession-al brand. Err on the side of conservative dress, avoid of-fice gossip and complaints and be sure to keep alcohol intake to a minimum. “You will never wish you drank more at the office holiday party, but you will always regret drinking too much. If you go into the party with this mindset, you will be less likely to overindulge,” said Dr. Tatsak.

2. Give gifts that give back to the local busi-ness and charitable

communitiesUnlike other times of the

year, the holidays present an organic opportunity to show appreciation through gift giving. Take the opportunity to maintain and build stron-ger relationships with col-

leagues, management, ven-dors and clients. “Gifts don’t have to be expensive or ex-travagant, but they should be meaningful,” said Dr. Tat-sak. “Look for unique items or experiences that will be memorable for the recipi-ent.”

Consider purchases that support Michigan-based businesses, such as appar-el from The Mitten State or a subscription gift to the Oil & Vinegar of the Month Club from Fustini’s Oils and Vinegars. (There are several more ideas on the Pure Mich-igan blog.) You also could ar-range for your staff to vol-unteer at a local food pantry such as Gleaners or organize a Toys for Tots drive, which create opportunities for team building.

3. Don’t rely on assump-tions to guide your communication, wheth-

er verbal or non-verbalIt’s easy to get caught in

the playful nature of the hol-iday season, especially in a world full of ugly sweaters and sarcastic holiday cards. What’s important to remem-ber is that assumptions can cause discomfort among colleagues, friends and fam-ily. “Not everyone will appre-ciate comments made in jest or to humor a group. Ensure that your expressions of hol-iday spirit are appropriate for a professional setting,” Dr. Tatsak said. “Above all else, you should be consid-erate of colleagues, employ-ees and clients – especially those who may not celebrate the same holidays or who may be dealing with difficult

circumstances in their per-sonal lives.”

‘Tis the season to enjoy time spent with friends, family and colleagues, but do make sure you enjoy the holidays with professional-ism in mind.

Founded in 1922 and celebrating more than 90 years of business educa-tion, Walsh College offers 19 business and related tech-nology degree programs at the bachelor’s and master’s levels that are responsive to student, employer, and com-munity needs. Walsh is a private, not-for-profit insti-tution offering courses and services at locations in Troy, Novi, Clinton Township, Port Huron, and online.

ThIs sTory is provided by walsh Col-lege via the detroit news/aP.

Keep etiquette in check while celebrating the holidays

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NEW YORK (AP) — Toys are staging a come-back.

The U.S. toy industry is expected to have its stron-gest year in at least a decade after several years of kids choosing videogames and mobile apps over Barbie and stuffed bears.

Annual toy sales are pro-jected to rise 6.2 percent to $19.9 billion in 2015, ac-cording to The NPD Group Inc., a market research firm that tracks about 80 per-cent of the U.S. toy market. That’s up from a 4 percent increase last year, and the biggest increase in at least 10 years since the group has tracked toys using its cur-rent system.

The increase factors in brisk sales during the final quarter of this year, when sales are expected to be up 5 percent to $9.6 billion, a stronger pace than last year’s 3.6 percent gain.

The growth is being fueled by increasing popularity of collectibles, toys based on Hollywood blockbuster films and better technology that allows toys to do things like talk back to children. It comes after sales slowed and sometimes declined in the past 10 years as children — much like their parents — became more enthralled with technology.

Now, toymakers are us-ing chip technology, which is getting cheaper and more powerful, in toys. They’re also focusing on grabbing the attention of the long-ig-nored but increasingly influ-ential preteen crowd.

“The selection is much greater than in the past,” said Jim Silver, editor-in-chief of TTPM, an online toy review site. “Technol-ogy is much better in the toy aisle, and it’s really inspiring young kids to play but also bringing older kids to things like radio control and role play items.”

What’s giving toys a

boost?

HOllyWOOdSurging demand for all

things “Frozen” helped the toy industry achieve a rare gain last year. Toys related to the blockbuster about a prin-cess who sets off to find her sister with icy powers were popular. In fact, “Frozen” was the top toy brand last

year, reaching $531 million in sales, according to NPD.

And the Hollywood infatu-ation is expected to continue with the release of the “Star Wars” movie on Dec. 18: Hundreds of products, from puzzles to action figures re-lated to “Star Wars,” are ex-pected to exceed Frozen’s success.

Marty Brochstein, who’s with the International Li-censing Industry Merchan-disers Association, says the $199.99 LightSaber from Hasbro, which features motion sensor-controlled sound effects, already are on backorder. He says “Star Wars” appeals to both kids and adults.

“It’s multi-generational,” Brochstein says.

Hasbro, the nation’s sec-ond largest toy company, reported a jump in second-quarter profit last month, helped by toys related to “Star Wars.”

Hasbro has the major mer-chandising licensing rights to make Star Wars toys from now until 2020. It’s also teaming up with Walt Dis-

ney Co.’s consumer prod-ucts division to make “Fro-zen” dolls in 2016. That deal froze out Mattel, which sells the dolls based on “Frozen” characters.

Toys R Us’ new CEO David Brandon says the retailer is placing big bets this holiday season on brands like “Star Wars” to help boost sluggish U.S. sales.

“It will be very interest-ing to see at the end of the holiday season where the growth comes from. And how much growth there is,” Brandon says.

BETTEr TECHNOlOGyToy companies are push-

ing remote controlled cars and droids controlled by smartphones. And robot-ic creatures are becoming more life-like with voice rec-ognition features.

Hasbro’s StarLily My Magi-cal Unicorn, for example, re-sponds to voice and touch with more than 100 sound and motion combinations. Mattel, the nation’s largest toy company, also is hop-

ing technology will help it reverse years of slumping sales.

“You want to make sure that you give them enough that they’re going to want to walk away from their iPads and phones,” said Mattel’s Executive Vice President Geoff Walker.

Mattel’s new Barbie fea-tures speech recognition and can have a two-way con-versation with girls. And its Fisher-Price brand has “Smart Bear,” an interactive plush bear marketed as hav-ing the brains of a computer without the screen — and is linked to a smartphone app. Fisher-Price also is pushing a robotic dinosaur.

“The best thing about it is that it shoots from the front and it shoots from the back,” says Matthew Fic, a 6-year-old who recently played with the toy.

TarGETiNG THE prETEEN SETThe 8- to 12-year old

group accounts for 22 per-cent of toy sales, according

to NPD, but has been ignored because they’re the biggest users of mobile devices.

Now, toy makers believe they can keep older kids’ at-tention because features like voice recognition are more affordable.

For example, Spin Master’s Meccano Meccanoid G15 al-lows kids to build and pro-gram their own personal four-foot-tall robot that re-cords and plays back audio and it learns from them. It has more than 1,200 parts and features 64 megabytes of memory.

And Hasbro spiffed up its Nerf gun to cater to the 14-plus crowd. Nerf Rival shoots balls 100 feet per sec-ond. Think paint ball meets Nerf.

Still, it could be a hard sell.“It’s fun. But I don’t know

how long I would play with this until I got bored.” said Jackson Roberts, 14, from Manhattan, referring to Nerf Rival. On Roberts’ holiday wish list: a 3-D printer and a droid that takes pictures.

Toys are on the move again ... to under your tree?Sarah Cunning-ham, with Hasbro, demon-strates a Nerf Rebelle. Hasbro spiffed up its Nerf gun to cater to the 14-plus crowd.

MarK lENNiHaN | aP PHotoSBarbie Fashionista Dolls from Mattel are growing anew in popularity.

Rock ‘N Roll Stuart is one of the interactive plush Minions from Thinkway Toys.

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(StatePoint) The delights of the holi-day season can add up quickly. From cooking and baking to shopping for the perfect gift, the season can take its toll on your wallet.

With some smart planning, you can enjoy everything the holidays have to offer without breaking your budget, say the discount experts at Dollar Gen-eral, who are providing some shrewd tips to help keep costs down.

dECK THE HallS

The holidays are marked by festive decorations. This year, consider a new theme or try your hand at DIY deco-rations. Create a rustic holiday feel with mason jars, fresh greenery and candles. Or for a more formal look, go chic with gold bulbs, white accents and burlap. Experiment with different materials and ornaments to create a one-of-a-kind, inexpensive display for your home.

GrEaT GiFTS

Gifts for friends and family can get expensive. Save money with DIY ideas. Try making a homemade soup mix in a jar. Purchase canning jars and fill them with soup ingredients like beans, spices and pasta. Discount re-

tailers like Dollar General carry a vari-ety of supplies and delicious ingredi-ents to make any DIY gift tasty. Finish the jar with a ribbon and use the gift tag to include cooking instructions on the back.

For the person who has everything, pick up a gift card to his or her favor-ite restaurant or store. Attach a bow or ornament to give it a seasonal touch. Or, consider giving the gift of time. Gather friends together for a baking day or cookie swap.

ClaSSiC rECipES

One of the most iconic aspects of the holidays is the food. Baked treats, rich casseroles, roasted meats and holiday candy are all wonderful enjoyments of the season. And the more you prepare yourself, the more you save. This year, try new recipes and have fun with unique ideas. Check out delicious and easy dishes for your holiday gather-ings at dollargeneral.com/easy-meals.

Display your spread on a beautiful tablescape with a decorative wreath as the centerpiece. Add a holiday ta-ble cloth, holiday bulbs and decorative LED lights to give family and friends a warm and festive place to share meals.

Enjoy this holiday season with af-fordable, fun and easy tips to make the most of your special celebrations.

How to celebrate the holidays for less

pHOTO By (C) CaTHEriNE Murray | FotoLia.CoM

Ideas for do-it-yourselfers

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By MiCHEllE lOCKEaSSoCiatEd PrESS

oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree, how boring are thy

branches?If you’re in a bit of a holi-

day rut when it comes to seasonal decorating, Carrie Brown’s recently released “The New Christmas Tree” (Artisan Books) may be just what you need to get that creative sap flowing.

Brown, owner of the popular Jimtown Store near Healdsburg, Calif., a country store and café, has been re-inventing trees for years, from the “blue tree” she made one Christmas to reflect her mood (which magically improved the more she got into the proj-ect) to the “bonfire ready” trees she came up with one year — manzanita branches studded with plump marsh-mallows.

Her book presents 24 ideas for rethinking the tree, starting with the ba-sics: picking the tree, what types work best with certain designs and caring for your festive foliage.

Some of the trees are quite simple, like a silver tree that’s a skinny branch strung with silver jewelry and other found objects. Some are aimed at keen crafters, like the paperwhite tree decorated with all kinds

of ornaments made from different weights of white paper.

A stunner of a tree — and the one that made the cover — is the bees’ tree, made of rosemary branch-es arranged in a vase and decorated with felted bees, beeswax ornaments and tiny vials of wax-dipped honey, among other things.

Beautifully photographed and coffee-table ready, the book is also practical, con-

taining detailed instructions on how to recreate the fea-tured trees along with web-site references for down-loading templates.

Brown would like it to serve as both blueprint and inspiration.

“I decided that it would be a wonderful thing to share, because there’s a lot of com-mercialism for Christmas, a lot of the same-old, same-old,” says Brown. “I think young people particularly

feel that some of the old commercial ways don’t re-flect them. I wanted to pres-ent something that could give people the opportunity to express themselves.”

Personalizing your tree is one of the trends of the season, says Ann Blevins, se-nior editor of Better Homes and Gardens’ “Christmas Ideas,” an annual publica-tion on newsstands.

“People have become much more comfortable

making their tree person-alized, whether it’s orna-ments from your vacations or framed letters to Santa,” she says.

Although many people stick with traditional red and green in their tree dé-cor, a new twist this year is faceted metallic ornaments, which go hand-in-hand with the home-decorating trend of faceted metal lamps, says Blevins.

New takes on lighting in-clude Edison lights, which look like old-fashioned bulbs with a visible “fila-ment,” as well as tiny fairy lights designed to be woven deep in the tree and used in abundance.

Getting your tree together can be one of the best parts of the season (unlike, say, pre-party house cleaning) and some of the ideas in Brown’s book could be the basis for a trimming party.

A tree decorated with gin-gerbread cookies and other sweets, Brown’s “decon-structed gingerbread house” might be a good choice for a child with a December birth-day. Partygoers could help decorate some of the sim-pler cookie ornaments and go home with treats from the tree.

Several of the trees are inspired by collections. For instance, Brown used her collection of decorative pin cushions in a tree that in-

cludes the cushions studded with decorative pins as well as homemade bugle and se-quin balls.

The Giving Tree, one of Brown’s favorites, turns the tables on the typical ad-vent calendar. Ornaments include envelopes hold-ing age-appropriate “good deed” slips. Children get to open an envelope every day in the countdown to Christmas, but instead of getting chocolate they have a chance to exercise their generosity.

Brown offers lots of ideas for home-made and inven-tive ornaments, including copper “bonbons” made with copper plumbing floats, available in hardware stores, covered with unrav-eled copper kitchen scrub pads.

And she suggests taking the decorating theme down to the floor, placing inter-esting objects beneath the tree and skipping the store-bought tree skirt in favor of an interesting throw or length of material.

Finding an alternative to old-fashioned skirts comes with a hidden bonus, notes Blevins. “We’re wrapping the tree in a throw — a fur throw or a sweater throw — which is nice because when Christmas is over and it’s January, you have a new af-ghan, and it’s perfect.”

Craft a unique holiday tree this Christmas

EriC riSBErG | aP PHotoCarrie Brown, author of “The New Christmas Tree,” adjusts a Popcorn, Peanut, Pretzel and Pickle Tree that is featured in her book at the Jimtown Store in Healdsburg, Calif. Brown is the owner of the Alexander Valley country store that dates to 1893.

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