Forum Flashbacks: Dec. 24 – Dec. 30

FORUM FILE PHOTO
FIVE YEARS AGO – ’Tis the season … to decorate homes in festive holiday themes and one of the more elaborate in Maryville is the East 16th Street home of Ron Houston and Dennis Dau featuring trees and shrubbery adorned in various colors of lights and large illuminated ornaments. Numerous other homes located in all sections of the city feature various degrees of home lighting, manger scenes, and inflatable seasonal characters — including, of course, Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus.

25 years ago

• Letters to Baby Jesus

Dear Jesus,

Please help Santa stay in control and not crash. Happy Birthday! How old are You?

Love,

Zachary Sherry

Dear Jesus,

I would like to talk to you about your birth. I am glad that you were born. Not that I get a lot of presents for the holiday, called Christmas. Thats when you were born.

Too bad they didn’t have enough rooms in the hotels for you to be born in. But after they knew you were the son of God they would of got a room for you to be comforted in.

I can’t wait till Christmas comes so we can open our presents and celebrate your birth.

Sincerely,

Evan Cloepfil

Happy Birthday, Jesus,

I love you Jesus and God. I’m glad you were born. I love Grandpa. Give Grandpa a big hug and kisses. Tell Grandpa I love him.

Love,

Caitlin Vandiver

15 years ago

• Northwest Missouri’s only local television station is likely to lose more than half its cable audience on Jan. 1, but officials at KQ-TV say the change won’t affect the station’s programming.
  KQ-TV, an ABC affiliate in St. Joseph, Mo., is in negotiations with St. Joseph Cablevision, which carries KQ-TV to about 28,000 households, over half of the station’s viewership. KQ-TV is asking for more money as a “value recognition,” but Cablevision has not been willing to negotiate the amount it’s asking for.
  Families have gathered, used wrapping paper and bows await the trash man on the curb, new clothes have been tried on and put away or will be returned for a different size or color, toys lie on the floor with dead batteries — all declaring the end of the holiday season for 2005.
• How did Maryville shops fare during the 2005 holiday shopping season? …
  According to Jim Boswell, the manager of the Maryville J.C. Penney store, the amount of holiday sales appeared to be a challenge during the first part of December; however late sales were very good — particularly the weekend before Christmas. And Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas were excellent shopping days.

5 years ago

• Call it the power of one. During what was supposed to be a quick, end-of-the-year session to take care of some routine — though expensive — business this week, the Maryville City Council found itself on the hot seat thanks to a series of probing questions from a single citizen speaking from the nearly deserted council chamber gallery.
  As expected Monday, the council approved a contract with Wertzberger Architects of Marshalltown, Iowa, for the design of a proposed $4 million conference center at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park to be constructed in conjunction with a privately developed hotel.
  In the end, the measure passed on a unanimous 5-0 vote, but not until after detailed questioning by Doug Stickley of Maryville, who voiced concerns about, among other things, the city’s plan to hire an architect for the center prior to the April 5 municipal election. …
  However, Stickley said that as a taxpayer he wanted to “see my money spent responsibly, and I would like to see it spent frugally.” He also said hiring a conference center architect before voters decide whether or not they want to pay for the facility was “an unwise expenditure in my opinion.”