MARYSVILLE Downtown merchants put on the show last weekend with their annual Christmas Past on Third Street featuring strolling musicians, Christmas carolers and a festive atmosphere in the citys historic center.
Longtime mainstays Carrs Hardware and the Hilton Pharmacy were joined by brand-new businesses like Phoenix Books and Finders Keepers in celebrating the holiday spirit.
Judy Goozee is the owner of the Finders Keepers antiques mall and looked like she fit in with all the antiquities on display at her huge showroom. She was wearing a golden brown-toned blouse complete with leg-of-mutton sleeves; Goozee looked like she might have stepped right out of the sepia-toned portrait of her grandmother hanging across from the check stand.
Other merchants wore top hats and a pair of strolling minstrels played the violin and accordion to the delight of shoppers. A troop of Campfire Girls from Everetts Immaculate Conception Elementary School invaded each and every store to warm the interiors with Christmas carols, while dressed in festive holiday attire. The Girl Scouts were in the Merrysville for the Holidays Parade just a couple hours later, and they were singing their lungs out, leaving smiles in their wake.
Its a neat street, said Darlene Scott, owner of Carrs Hardware Store, in business since 1924.
She was sampling the Samurai Teas at Phoenix Books, where owner Elizabeth DeSalvo hosted an arts and crafts display in her new store, open a month to the day. DeSalvo sold her former store in Smokey Point to move to a larger location in downtown Marysville.
She was hosting Dillon Doyle, who was spinning wool into yarn with her foot-powered spinning wheel. Friends were dressed in period costumes as well, and Sue Bonasara offered samples of her exotic loose-leaf tea blends.