Gentry braves wintry blast to carry on Christmas tradition

— In addition to the usual "Ho, ho, ho," Santa could be heard shouting, "Cold, cold, cold!" from his lofty position in the bucket of a fire engineduring the Saturday night Christmas parade on Gentry's Main Street.

And cold it was! With strong winds blowing out of the north and temperatures well below freezing, most parade goers watched fromthe shelter of their cars, store fronts or at least from areas sheltered from the cold winds.

Participants, too, bundled up with coats and blankets wherever they could.

In spite of the cold, the streets and store frontswere crowded as bands, floats, horses and other displays passed by.

Winners of awards in the parade were the following:

◊The Judges Award for theme "A StorybookChristmas" - Bloomfield 4-H;

◊Main Street Award for Lights - Decatur State Bank, Gentry Bank;

◊Grand Prize for overall (lights, theme and sound) - FlintCreek Power Plant (AEP - Southwestern Electric Power Company); and

◊Chamber Award for sound - Flint Creek Power Plant ( AEP - Southwestern Electric Power Company).

Community News, Pages 10 on 12/15/2010