2009

7 December 2009 McAdam Railway Station Decorated for Christmas   McAdam New Brunswick - Brenda Stannix loves Christmas.   When she was given the opportunity to join in the festivities of decorating for Christmas at the McAdam Railway Station, she jumped at the chance. With six rooms, a stairwell, and outside under the canopy to choose from, she picked the agent's office to decorate.   It's a small room but it was packed with lots of great ideas from her own collection of Christmas decorations. Small paper doilies trimmed to fit gave the illusion of lace around the large multi-paned windows. Lots of mini-lights set the tone for a great space. An old ladder leaned casually against the wall held a pair of painted ice skates encircled with a garland and bows.   One very special ornament hung with others on the 10-foot tree but it held significance for Stannix's family. The little painted wooden horse has been in the family for over 40 years first belonging to her mother, now Stannix, and it will pass to her daughter and one day it will belong to her granddaughter.   The McAdam Historical Resoration Commission used the Christmas tour as a fundraiser to continue its work of restoring the century-old historical site.   One very unusual tree in the stairwell at the station was decorated by Ann Garrett of McAdam.   The decorations on the tree on the landing were kewpie dolls. When asked about the theme, Garrett said that for many years growing up, this was how the tree in her childhood home was decorated. With the historical site as the setting, she felt this was very appropriate to bring people a taste of history.   The Maxwell Room, open for the first time to the general public, was a delightful surprise to many as it took on an elegance with period furniture, a fireplace, and niches in the wall decorated for Christmas. The room was undertaken by Vi Biggar and friends as the room was open to the public for the first time since its restoration.   Shari Gillespie and Jill Greer of Harvey took on the waiting room. The large space would look like a formidable task to many, but Greer and Gillespie set to work and in about three hours they turned it into a "touch of Victorian." Rag quilts, real greens, vintage toys placed under a giant tree, and a fireplace mantle draped with greens, an old lantern, and a string of dried apples, cinnamon sticks, and popcorn. The smell alone evoked great thoughts of Christmas.   The tree was decorated with handmade quilted socks and raffia and the large traveling trunks were decorated with hand made rag dolls. One of the vintage toys under the tree was a doll carriage collected at a flea market while the other was a rocking horse belonging to Gillespie's family heritage.   Although there was no snow on the ground outside, snowmen caught the eye of visitors to the women's waiting room. Betty Lou Christie took on the challenge to bring the room, containing many artifacts from the station's history, into the Christmas season. There were snowmen families, large snow people, and small snow people in figurine form and on plaques and hatboxes.   If that wasn't enough, she also worked with her sister, Elsie Carroll, in decorating the historic curved lunch counter. The counters were covered with small villages many of which included a train station. From a barber shop, fire station, theatre, corner store, and beautiful Victorian homes, the villages gave a visual depiction of what a small village much like McAdam might have been like in days of old. Small figurines of people skating, couples walking, and children playing completed many of the scenes.   A blanket of puffy batten gave the illusion of a winter scene, adding to the thrill of seeing the lighted villages.   The grand dining room held a giant tree with hundreds of lights and lots of red bows. The unique curved-top windows were highlighted with more mini-lights and greens, ribbon, and cones on the windowsills.   With the walls already painted red as part of the decor and the vintage style chairs, the dining room welcomed guests on the tour to a reception at the end of the evening. Gail Swan, coordinator of the reception, said that more than 35 dozen sweets along with peanut brittle and fudge and candies fed the more than 250 who attended the Christmas tour.   "This has been a great fundraiser," said Elsie Carroll.   People from as far away as Maine, Woodstock, Fredericton, Harvey, as well as local people coming to see the station in its Christmas mode was a thrill for those involved.   From the moment guests arrived at the train station, the walkway decorated by Penny Messer of Harvey was a beckoning welcome.   Even Santa got into the act but was caught looking in a large trunk on the baggage wagon.   Brenda MacMinn.

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