By Emily Younker
eyounker@joplinglobe.com
When the white lights switched on Monday night, lighting up Joplin’s Christmas tree, the crowd assembled in downtown Spiva Park oohed and aahed.
But perhaps no one was more impressed than 7-year-old Barrett Hughes.
“It’s like a Christmas wonderland,” he exclaimed to his grandmother, Judy Hughes, of Webb City.
The Joplin Holiday Experience kicked off Monday with the unveiling of window displays at City Hall, and then the lighting of the city’s Christmas tree and caroling at Spiva Park.
Lisa Yates, who moved to Joplin with her husband in April, said she appreciates that the city has events such as this one to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season.
“I think it’s beautiful,” she said of the park. “I thought it was only going to be the tree. All the other lights coming on made it nice.”
Two blocks down the street, the windows of City Hall boasted scenes designed to invoke nostalgia for those who remember department store window displays. Several windows featured vintage toys as well as clothes and backdrops sewed specifically for the displays.
The hint of days gone by was the reason that Barri McPheron, of Joplin, brought her two sons, Peyton and Gabriel, to the unveiling.
“We came just to see the windows that their grandparents got to see as children,” McPheron said.
Keegan Streight, of Oronogo, stood holding his 2 1/2-year-old son, Aidan, to the window featuring a 32-foot train display operated by the Tri-State Model Railroad Club.
“He didn’t care about the rest of the windows,” Streight said of his son, who was transfixed with the model trains. “He wants to go inside and play.”
Streight’s wife, Amanda, said she thought the displays were “beautiful,” though she said her favorite was the train display because of how much Aidan liked it.
“(My favorite is) anything that makes his face light up,” she said. “He’s very excited.”
Fred Lemley, who spent the past several months designing the windows, said the effort was a “huge success.”
“I’ve seen kids just thrilled to death over this, and that was the objective,” he said as he walked around taking pictures of his displays.
Bill Schwab was also present at the unveiling. His grandfather, Sol Newman, was one of the three original partners of Newman’s Department Store, which for years occupied the building that now houses City Hall.
Schwab, of Joplin, said his favorite window contained the animated display, in which a teddy bear in a small rocking chair rocked back and forth, and a fluffy white toy cat’s tail swished.
“I thought Fred (Lemley) did a great job,” Schwab said. “I think it’s very nice. The store building looks great.” Lemley had worked for Newman’s many years ago.
City Manager Mark Rohr, who came up with the idea of holiday window displays, said he would like to see downtown Joplin capture the feel of yesteryear.
“What better way to create that feel and ambiance than to restore a tradition that I remember, though not in Joplin?” Rohr told the crowd that had gathered for the unveiling.
Annual parade
The Holiday Experience continues at 6 p.m. today with the Joplin Christmas parade, which will go down Main Street between 20th and Second streets.
