Holiday season alive and well in Harrington

Chamber of Commerce

The Harrington Area Chamber of Commerce met December 5 at The Post & Office with Tim Tipton, Paula Harrington, Debbie Chapman, David Michaelson, Summer Shockley, Kathy Hoob, Bunny Haugan, Heather Slack and Cherie MacClellan present. Guest speaker Debbie Chapman, coordinator for Parent-To-Parent, told the Chamber that this program provides information and one-to-one emotional support to parents of children who have special needs. She is based in Ritzville, and her territory covers Lincoln and Whitman counties, as well as the 8th, 9th and 16th voting districts. Her goal is to provide resource data for those needing it.

December 18 is the date the Chamber will distribute approximately 30 gift baskets and a poinsettia plant to selected families. The poinsettias were purchased by the Altar Society. The FFA had a successful sale of wreaths, poinsettias and Christmas trees and as of Dec. 5 had seven wreaths and six trees left for sale.

Tipton and Harrington assembled 20 wreaths that the Chamber placed along Third Street at downtown businesses. Within a few days, however, one of them had been taken from the Opera House on the Third Street side.

The Annual Hometown Christmas event reported that at least 11 vendors were present, reporting mixed results for income versus time and expense. The music and dance performances at Memorial Hall were well received. There were reported 29 sittings with Santa and his Elves. The goodie bags given to the kids, put together by Ott Insurance and Cindy Haase, were considered "very well put together." Chamber acknowledged that the overall success for Harrington Hometown Christmas couldn't have been possible without all who were involved.

Discussion ensued about finding ways to make the informational signs in Harrington more apparent. The conversation included how to increase lighting on the sign near the creek on Hwy. 28 and across from the triangle park at the north end of Third and Hwy. 28. Creating a backing made of corrugated metal behind this latter sign was one possible option proposed.

School and HOHS event

The evening of December 5, Linda Wagner began playing background Christmas music at the Opera House as some of the teachers and students began to arrive. What an uplifting spirit to fill the air as the large auditorium began to fill for the 6 p.m. performance of the local elementary students in their Christmas presentation to the community. A little scurrying occurred as Opera House Society members saw the crowd assembling and additional chairs needing to be brought out. Even so, there were not enough for the number of people who filled the building to standing room only. An estimate offered was 150 persons seated and another 25 standing.

The performance on the whole was delightful and entertaining, as well as precious to the parents and relatives who saw their children take to the stage and announce their own names before singing. Upon arriving, attendees were met at the door by two student greeters who handed out programs announcing the order of the Christmas Concert. As the program began, Linda Wagner made a few welcoming and introductory comments, followed by Harrington principal Tiffany Clouse thanking Wagner for coming to the school to practice with the children and for playing for the program. The preschool and pre-Kindergarten children sang "Jingle Bells" and "Reindeer Hokey Pokey." There were 19 children in this grouping, taught respectively by Carrie Halme and Susan Larmer. In an orderly fashion, these children left the stage and the seven first-grade children took their places, announced their names and sang "When Christmas Comes to Town." Their teacher is Mrs Comella. These children took their seats and the 11 Kindergarten children came and sang "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." Taunya Sanford is instructor of the Kindergarten. Charlie King's 12 second-grade students performed two songs, "Up on the Housetop" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." Following each group's performance, the audience clapped, cheered and expressed approval and enjoyment. There was a brief intermission in which the PTA held a drawing and the school presented Linda Wagner with a gift. The audience was asked to join in singing "Happy Birthday" to three persons before the program continued. Lamarr Larmer's fifth-graders and Mrs Bell's 6th graders combined, making 21 students singing "Let It Snow" and "Winter Wonderland," which was followed by Jessica Lauber's 13 third and fourth grade students singing "Nuttin' for Christmas" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"; the latter being joined in by the audience before dismissal. Some of the younger students donned antlers which added a special touch to their reindeer songs and actions.

The Society's members were pleased with the wonderful turnout and the professional manner in which the performance was done by children under the guidance of a grand cluster of instructors at a school with no music department this year.

It might be added that Santa's Workshop will be held for K-12 students on December 19. The Harrington School newsletter, the Panther News, commented "Thank you to the Harrington School Board for awarding a generous grant for this event. With this support we are able to carry on the tradition of making and giving handmade gifts. Our students look forward to this yearly, and we know that they are learning the value of giving. Thank you also to the many community volunteers who so generously donate their time and often supplies to help with Santa's Workshop. We appreciate all of you. Thank you to Linda Sanford for knitting hats for all of the Kindergarten children! Thank you to Sue Els for sewing our names in the hats!"

HHPC

The Harrington Historic Preservation Commission met Friday morning, December 7, at The Post and Office with Karen Allen, Heather Slack, Aileen Sweet and Les LePere present. The agenda included approving the Sept. meeting's minutes, discussing membership and planning the calendar year for 2019. Dates for next year's meetings are tentatively set for Jan. 26, April 27, August 3 and Oct. 12 at 9 a.m. at The Post and Office. Restoration has been taking place on several of the buildings in the downtown area, as well as many homes in Harrington. "This is a very positive indicator of Harrington's future and an example of how historic restoration and adaptive re-use can benefit a community," said Karen Allen.