The 28th annual Pioneer Christmas at the Forest City Stockade will be this Saturday from 10-to-4. There will be all kinds of fun activities and food.
Bob Hermann says they will have 4 teams of horses pulling wagons so no one should have to wait for a ride around the grounds. He says the Buck Skinners will set up an encampment again on the east side of the Stockade and stay overnight.
Hermann says stoves will be going in each of the buildings at the Stockade, but the temperatures are supposed to be mild so it will be pleasant outdoors too. He says you can visit the Riverside Tavern in Forest City and stock up on herring and an array of chocolate and other candies.
Dave Knutson says the Pioneer Christmas will include pioneer crafts, and food including cream can stew, homemade ice cream, fry bread, lefse, root beer and more. He encourages people to stop in and visit the people in the encampment on the east side of the Stockade.
Knutson says children can make old-fashioned ornaments in the school house and they can take their photo with Santa in the barn. He says there are over 100 volunteers who help with the Pioneer Christmas.
The Meeker County Holiday Project is into its final week. Toys and monetary donations need to be dropped off at Center Bank in Litchfield by December 11th, and donations can also be dropped off at the Threads of Hope store at 120 North Sibley Avenue in downtown Litchfield.
Rochelle Brummond from UCAP says her office is in the back of the Threads of Hope store and families that need help can get a referral sheet there and be part of the store that they will set up December 12th and 13th in the basement of First Lutheran Church in Litchfield. She says she uses the cash they receive to purchase gifts for teenagers.
Brummond says the cash is also used for food vouchers for families in the Holiday Project and to purchase food baskets for elderly residents around Meeker County. She says checks for the Meeker County Holiday Project may be dropped off or mailed to 120 North Sibley Avenue in Litchfield and if anyone has questions, they may call her at 693-7911, extension 1401.
Loree Schultz from Center Bank says this is the 35th year that the bank has collected toys and cash for the Holiday Project and they are down a little this year, probably because Thanksgiving was so late this year. She says all of the donations help people right in Meeker County.
Schultz says no donation is too small as they collect new, unwrapped toys for children from infants to age 16, and cash. She says they can use anything as small as crayons or as large as a tent or bicycle, and anything in between, like board games and books.
