A Letter from
Mayor Patty Gregory
There is no time more special for many of us than this festive season. I remember making Russian tea cakes, a type of smooth, nutty cookie rolled in powdered sugar, with my mother, Helen. Another special memory is watching the movie, “A Christmas Story,” with my elderly parents late on Christmas night every year, the very last time it was shown before the next holiday season.
Bright lights, the smell of cookies baking, shimmering stars on a brisk December night, the sound of laughter and music, a dusting of snow: all of these evoke memories of holidays past. They serve as markers of time well spent with families and friends, and they are more precious than any gift.
I invite you to create those memories with your loved ones right here in our Great. Big. Small Town. Ride the trolley, visit Christkindlmarkt, make a wish list for Santa and see him downtown. Maybe take in a movie, a play, or a concert. Shop our wonderful selection of mom and pop stores throughout the city of Belleville for just the perfect gift for a special someone. Visit our numerous restaurants on Main Street and on the East & West ends. Drive through the Way of Lights or just one of our many neighborhoods taking in the array of decorations.
But as wonderful as these experiences may be, not all our neighbors and friends share them. Economic insecurity, family illness, addiction, and loneliness make these times especially difficult. I had the privilege to visit a shelter operated by The St. Vincent DePaul Society last week and the holiday spirit is clearly there. Serving hundreds of meals a day, providing shelter and basic necessities, providing hope in the midst of their clients’ darkest hours, all of this personify what this holiday should be.
I also hope, as you bustle about with all your holiday preparations and shopping that you will take a minute to invite a neighbor to dinner, to shovel a senior citizens’ driveway or sidewalk, to toss coins into a red kettle..or better yet…to volunteer to be a bell ringer yourself! I hope that your children and your grandchildren’s best memories will not be about what they get…but about what they give.
The happiest of holidays to all of you…and in the immortal words of Tiny Tim: “God bless us, every one.”
