Holiday Gnomes set to return to Elkins
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ELKINS -- Our Town Inc. has spent the last several years helping beautify the streets of downtown Elkins, not only during the spring and fall, but during the holiday season.
Last year's decision to add Evergreen Holiday Gnomes to their list of seasonal decorations was an overwhelming hit with local residents, so much so that the Our Town decided to bring them back again this year, despite some Grinches' attempts last year to thwart the gnome celebration.
Shortly after they hit the streets last season, vandals damaged all the hat decorations that sat upon the festive creatures' heads, causing extra work but not deterring local volunteers.
The hats were repaired and at the end of the season they were placed in storage, awaiting their return this holiday season. After the hats were unpacked and inspected, it was learned that many needed new decorations and repairs after sitting in storage for a year and battling the outdoor elements from a year ago.
That's when the Elkins Sewing Center and members of the Lady Shriners stepped in. The Sewing Center constructed cutouts for new winter symbols to be sewn onto the hats where holes and tears existed, and Shriners members Pat Nestor, Lena Umbright, and Sandy George worked on making all the repairs.
But with so much left to do in order to complete all the repairs on the hats, more help was needed and that's when a homebound Shriners member, Bobbi Valentine, agreed to take over and finish the work.
"Bobbi (Valentine) is the type of volunteer who finds joy in her participation and is excited to share her creativity," said Our Town Volunteer Bobbi Trimboli. "As she works on the hats, she envisions what a child would see as they looked upon each gnome. She is a sparkling star in our community and we are so pleased that the Lady Shriners have taken on this part of the Gnome project."
Our Town added another wrinkle to the holiday decorations this year by distributing two-foot tall, wooden Christmas Trees for local residents to paint and decorate.
The finished trees will be collected at the Delmonte Market on Nov. 20 through Nov. 23, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. And like the gnomes, the Christmas trees are scheduled to go up for display sometime before the Christmas Parade on Dec. 3.