The Gingerbread Santa House that used to sit in the Plaza on Walnut Street (Photo courtesy of the Humes family)
The Holiday Stroll, sponsored by Downtown Milford, Inc, is a relatively new tradition for downtown Milford, having started 19 years ago as a way to promote the downtown area. However, holiday traditions are not completely new in Milford. Some remain as part of the holiday season even today, but others have disappeared over the years.
“My fondest memory of Christmas when I was young was the Coffman-Fisher store on the northwest corner of North Walnut and the river,” Carolyn Humes said. “After Thanksgiving, they decorated their second floor into a Christmas toy land. We had never seen so many toys! I am sure there was a Santa there as well. It was a child’s paradise and a wonderous experience.”
Mrs. Humes husband, Harry, recalled the Santa House that his father built for the town. The house was known as the “Storybook House” and resembled a gingerbread house. It was set up on the Plaza, in what is now the median where the City of Milford Customer Service Office and the Jesus Love Temple now stands. The home was surrounded by a fence and there were evergreens, a sleigh and a sign depicting when Santa was taking requests. The house was built around 1939 and it is not clear when it was removed.
In 1984 or 1985, John Eustis, who was President of the Milford Plaza Merchants Association, decided that the Plaza needed a Santa house. He is unsure whether the association purchased a shed or whether the shelter was built by members, but it was placed in a vacant area between Ames and Leggett’s, where La Tonalteca is today.
“I hired a Santa, Bill Dillinger, who was awesome with the kids,” Mr. Eustis said. “We had entertainment when he was there. We had the Milford High School Jazz Band perform, other local groups who sang Christmas Carols.” Mr. Eustis said that the Santa House at the Plaza ended when Mr. Dillinger passed away suddenly. Not long after that, Mr. Eustis said he believes the downtown merchants took over the Santa House project, moving it to Walnut Street.
Barbara Jones recalled that there were choruses and bands who performed in an empty lot on Walnut Street before W.T. Grants expanded. Today, the area is where Davis, Bowen & Friedel’s offices are located. Ms. Jones said that much of the holiday celebrations downtown were at churches, many of whom held cantatas and Christmas Eve services that were well attended each year.
“The lights downtown were beautiful back then,” Alice Metzner said. “The light poles had bells, trees, candy canes and the lights were colored, not white. I am not a big fan of all the white lights we have now.”
Metzner recalls going downtown and storefronts would have display windows decorated.
“I don’t know, but maybe because I was a kid, things seemed so much more magical,” Metzner stated. “I remember shopping in J.C. Penney, Grants, Leggett’s, Woolworth and Lou’s Bootery. My family would go to Woolworth’s to get lunch at the café then we would get decorations for the tree. I still have some of the vintage Christmas ornaments, they are my favorites.”
Others recalled downtown being crowded with shoppers and working at some of the stores that were popular then, like Penney’s and Grants. In the 1950s and 60s, there were appliance stores, a few shoe stores, several ladies fashion outlets. Christmas cards were sold in pharmacies. For many, Milford was the place to be at Christmas time, but that did change as more businesses opened on Route 113 and with the opening of the Blue Hen Mall.
“I remember going to the Blue Hen Mall at Christmas and all the little animated figures they had in the center of the mall,” Jen Miller said. “We would make a night of it, driving up from Milford to check out the stores in the mall and those little figurines just mesmerized me as a kid. I remember thinking that I couldn’t wait to grow up and have them in my own house. I don’t have a single one, but those memories stick with me.”
According to Charles Gray of the Milford Community Parade, in the 1990s, there was a decision to create a Christmas parade in Milford as almost every town in the area had one.
“I believe it was Owen Brooks who mentioned he would like to see one in Milford,” Mr. Gray said. “Milford Community Parade organized one for three years and tried to make it stand out. It was held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving with no commercial floats. I believe the church consortium was on the committee as was Councilwoman Katrina Wilson. We had horse-drawn carriages, floats created by churches and attendees voted on who had the best float. We did not have Santa in the parade.” Mr. Gray said that the parade walked the Riverwalk to Bicentennial Park where a chorus sang Christmas carols. Church participation dwindled and the Saturday after Thanksgiving had a small turnout, so the decision was made to discontinue the parade.
Mr. Gray said that the parade was held at night in order for people watching to enjoy the Christmas lights downtown. He said he would be interested in creating an exploratory committee to bring the parade back, possibly combining the parade with Santa’s arrival downtown on Small Business Saturday, which is held the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
RELATED STORIES:
Share this Post