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McMinnville residents can enjoy stories of Christmases past Saturday.
County Historian Jimmy Haley said the guided walking tour will focus on Main Street in the 1960s. Haley said the tour will highlight historic buildings and citizens to paint a picture of what McMinnville was like in Christmas of yesteryear.
“I just thought it would be a nice thing to kind of recapture part of that mystic sense of holiday spirit from the past, and do a little walk-through with folks to rekindle some memories and generate some new memories,” Haley said.
The event is part of McMinnville’s Second Saturday series. Stores stay open late as the community enjoys food and music. Haley said stores will be hosting their holiday open houses as the tour is going on as well. First tour at 4pm Saturday, the second at 5:30pm.
“As more and more merchants and people move downtown and with new housing developments downtown and more people getting involved in downtown activities, I just think it’s a great opportunity to show a little bit about our past and what’s there right now and what the future is going to hold,” Haley said.
Haley said the Halloween tour was such a success that this one will be broken into two groups to make the crowd more manageable. McMinnville is requesting $5 donations from those in attendance for their grant programs to continue to generate economic development downtown
Haley said with new housing developments opening up near downtown, the city has experienced a boom in recent years. Haley said that it is important for those new to the town to learn its history.
“Folks want to know a little bit about where we are and those folks that are from McMinnville want to hear those stories again,” Haley said. Particularly from someone who was there in downtown and witnessed it.”
