By Sterling McGinn
This past week, members of the Village of Newberry crews performed the annual task of taking down the Christmas decorations for the year.
The bells, stars and greenery are stored in the former 41 Lumber building. One of the side rooms of the building houses the bell storage and work area. A furnace was installed and the decorations are hung to dry.
The Save the Bells Committee is planning to begin the restoration of the stars. “We hope to have the stars finished before next Christmas, but they will be a little more challenging,” said committee member Kathy Dzelak.
The stars are made of white cloth material covering a wire frame. They are mounted to a piece of plywood fastened to metal framework. The cloth star covers will be remade and the wire frames reshaped.
Originally the framework was constructed out of wood. Live greenery was stapled to the frames. The committee is looking into finding a durable artificial greenery to wrap around the frames.
“The addition of greenery would add to the beauty of the stars,” said Dzelak.
Anyone interested in the Save the Bells project can contact Sterling McGinn at 989-306-1860 or can go the Newberry Christmas Bells Facebook page.
