ALACHUA ‒ The Alachua Woman’s Club was ablaze with lights and sounds of the season last Saturday night as they celebrated the Charity Ball of Saint Nicholas. The Alachua Woman’s Club organization and its landmark historic stone building have been fixtures on Main Street since 1936. The club itself was founded in 1912 during the summer when three new classrooms were built onto the wooden school house in Alachua. The county school board had no money available to buy the furnishings for the new classrooms, including desks, chairs, blackboards, books, and even chalk.

A primary teacher by the name of Mrs. Hilton, who had taught in other schools brought an idea that she had seen work in other places before a gathering of Alachua parents and teachers. Her suggestion was for parents and teachers to join together and form a club that would focus on solving the problems of school needs.

Originally called The School Improvement Club of Alachua, the group was charged with creating unity and fellowship for a woman's organization, so the members were primarily female.

They organized fund raising projects throughout the year and were able to raise enough money to furnish the new schoolrooms, pay a $125 down on a piano, and hire a janitor for the school, and they continued their goal though the years. In 1921 the club members decided that not only did the school need their continued help, but also there were many things they could do to help the community so they changed the club’s name to The Improvement Club of Alachua.

By 1924, the group had grown bigger and idea of an central clubhouse was discussed, but it would be another 14 years before the historic building on Main Street was built. In 1949 the club’s name changed once again and became The Alachua Woman’s Club (AWC). But the focus through the years stayed the same—an organization of women focused on helping schools and education by raising funds and volunteer work.

Each year the AWC awards a full, two-year scholarship to Santa Fe College to a girl graduating from Santa Fe High School. They also operate the first Food 4 Kids program in Alachua, which provides food for hungry children at Alachua Elementary School. Each holiday season they donate funds to the two elementary schools to help provide toys and clothes for children in need.

The clubhouse is not only a meeting place, but is also used to host events and raise funds for charitable projects as a rental event space, so the building has seen a lot of use including a restoration campaign in 2007. Old buildings need upkeep and during the pandemic shutdown, the club made some major repairs. The wood floors needed sanding and varnish. Cracks in the 73-year-old structure needed structural repairs, plastering, and painting.

“The amount of support from the community and business was amazing,” said Alachua CRA director Lindsey Rizzo. “We had volunteers to do much of the work for free and financial funding from a number of organizations.”

But there is still work to be done, so as their first event since the pandemic, the Woman's Club held their first annual Charity Ball of Saint Nicholas on Dec. 4 to thank all their sponsors and supporters and raise additional funds with a silent auction.

Saint Nicholas greeted all the guests at the door and mingled with the crowd during the reception hour as guests enjoyed appetizers from a buffet provided by caterer Taste of Gainesville while Wayne's World DJ provided music and guests had the opportunity to place bids for the silent auction.

At 7 p.m. Woman's Club Building Manager Emelie Matthews and Rizzo gave awards to their top three Gold Sponsors - Holiday Inn Express, Polaris of Gainesville and Emory Group Companies. They also thanked six Platinum sponsors and the 15 partners in the restoration efforts.

Santa, now dressed as the authentic Saint Nicholas of Myra, told the history of the man and how he transitioned into Santa Claus. The DJ also led the assembled group in a sing along of Christmas songs and the evening finished off with an hour of dancing and announcement of the winners of the silent auction, which saw all items sold. For members of the Woman's Club, who spend their energy and resources helping others, it was a night that the community gave back to them in the Christmas spirit.

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ALACHUA ‒ It was the spring of 1996. Charles Moore, a 1969 graduate of A. L. Mebane High School, fervently wanted to establish an organization to revitalize the history of the school as the county's all black high school during the segregation era.

A.L. Mebane High School saw its first graduating class in 1960, and over the years saw changes in education for African Americans and the results of the struggle for racial equality and civil rights. In 1970, Alachua County schools were integrated by Federal law, and there would be no more graduating seniors from A.L. Mebane High School. All the county schools were integrated, the high school students at Mebane were transferred to Santa Fe High School, and Mebane became an integrated middle school.

Moore's brainchild was an organization for all the Alumni to celebrate their history with the community and help future student generations from the neighborhoods remember what the past was like and recognize current opportunities.

Moore sought to keep the school spirit flourishing through yearly reunions, with the focus on keeping the legacy alive for all the graduating classes from1960 to 1970. The unity and spirit of the 10 graduating classes remained strong and the Alumni Association was created by Moore in 1996, who also served as its first president.

Since then, each year on the weekend after Thanksgiving, former students and family members from A.L. Mebane High School hold a multi-day homecoming celebration and parade for a school that no longer exists. Sponsored by the A.L. Mebane High School Alumni Association, the event has become a community tradition. What started as a small group of former students dedicated to keep a connection with their classmates, has become a community event spanning generations celebrating their history, culture and achievements.

The goal of the Alumni Association is not just to celebrate its history, it is also to provide opportunities to current students and give them a better chance at education and a successful future.

“It is important that people remember the past and the struggles of those who came before them. People without a purpose perish, so we want to make sure we provide that opportunity and help future generations,” Moore said.

Each year the Alumni Association awards scholarships to graduating seniors who apply and meet requirements based on student achievement and motivation. “The other requirement is that they have had a family member who went to A,L, Mebane High School,” said Moore. “We presently have eight scholarships available, which are given to 8^th grade students at Mebane Middle School with our Step-Up Award.”

Typically, the money is raised from activities surrounding the Alumni weekend including the parade, food or donations. However, the past two years during the COVID pandemic have greatly limited the scope of the activities. “Out of concerns for public safety and spreading the virus, we canceled many of the group activities including the parade,” Moore said. “But we feel the celebration of our history, gathering of Alumni and community, and raising funds for the scholarships are still important, so the event still happens, even if on a smaller scale.”

This year the gathering was small with a ceremony and speakers at the Paradise Community Outreach Church in Alachua at the invitation of Pastor Debra Sermons. The ceremony started with the entire gathering uniting in the song, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” with additional music from the St Matthews Choir.

Vice Mayor of Alachua Shirley Green Brown spoke, as did High Springs Mayor Bryan D. Williams and Newberry Commissioner Tony Mazon. The keynote speaker was Alachua County Sheriff Clovis Watson, Jr. who was introduced by Under Sheriff Joel DeCoursey, Jr., who formerly served as the police chief for the City of Alachua and the City of High Springs as well as City Manager for High Springs. Watson and DeCoursey had also attended Mebane as students.

Watson said history should be remembered as well as the achievements and struggles of those who came before them. He pointed out that while African Americans hold many positions of leadership now, including sheriff and police chiefs in Gainesville, High Springs and City of Alachua, it was those who came before them that made these changes possible.

“They were the ones who were not allowed the opportunities or denied the right to be first, but they made what we see today possible,” Watson said. “It is now our responsibility to show the younger generation that anything is possible. Encourage them with the importance of education, learn their history and the struggles that got us to these achievements.”

The Alumni society also held a BBQ dinner after the ceremony, with the $12-15 meals going toward the scholarships. “We felt we had to keep it safe and scale back the activities due to COVID, but that also hurt our funding drive for the scholarships,” Moore said. “We are accepting donations from anyone who has it in their heart to contribute to the scholarships for these young people's higher education and give them better opportunities for the future. The Alumni Association believes in paying it forward based on the achievements of those before.”

Anyone who would like to donate to the scholarships can send a check to PO Box 628 Alachua FL 32616 in the name of A L Mebane High School Alumni Assoc., Inc.

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ALACHUA ‒ Alachua is doing it up big this holiday season as events are happening every weekend throughout the month. In 2006, the City of Alachua began holding several events to celebrate Christmas with the community. Longstanding events started the first Friday of the month with a tree lighting ceremony along with a visit from Santa Claus, followed the next weekend by a Christmas parade with brightly colored floats, marching bands, and all sorts of conveyances on Main Street. The event has grown every year, both in size of the crowd and participation of Alachua businesses.

But like so many other things, the COVID pandemic limited the event in 2020. While it was still held, changes were made and events were moved to Skinner Park where the outdoor space allowed for social distancing. While Santa still greeted the crowd from his carriage and did the countdown to the tree lighting, there was no face-to-face meeting with the children, music was limited, and safety concerns even impacted the tradition of giving out candy, hot chocolate and cookies.

This year, the celebration is in overdrive. On Dec. 3, Main Street was decorated with brightly lit multi-colored lights and downtown businesses sponsored candy giveaways and children's activities. Santa and Mrs. Claus listened to children's Christmas wish lists as his elves helped direct the line so each child could meet Santa. The space was transformed into a magical spot covered in Christmas lights with cookies and gifts for the children. Musicians performed along the brightly lit street as families strolled along, peeking in shop windows after the official tree lighting at 6:30 p.m. The tree lighting, visit with Santa, and the parade has become a holiday tradition throughout the community.

It is a month-long celebration as Alachua is bringing back the magic of the holiday season. Under the guidance of CRA director Lindsey Rizzo, “Holiday Nights on Main Street” features a whole series of events to keep the Christmas spirit alive. The tree lighting in Skinner park was the kick off for the season. Called “Fa La La Fridays,” all three Fridays before Christmas will feature a series of events sponsored by the businesses on Main Street, the City of Alachua and corporate sponsors. “The events are the work and coordination of numerous volunteers and businesses, and we are grateful for all the work they put into this,” said Rizzo. “We wanted to make this a celebration of the whole holiday month with participation from the whole community, not just the singular events of the past.”

Some of the changes from last year remained, such as the tree lighting at Skinner Field. Santa arrived in his carriage and announced the tree lighting countdown, but this year the children could again sit on Santa's lap.

“We found that moving all the city events to one location last year made more sense and focused activities in the park. But we also got a lot of support from businesses and organizations on Main Street,” said Rizzo. Photos with Santa were provided by Magnolia Lane Photography and Alachua Boy Scout Troop 88 provided hot chocolate. Capitol City Bank provided popcorn and costumed characters in the park while the City provided cookies and a snow machine blowing out pretend flakes.

Along with decorative lights and Christmas trees, carriage rides on Main Street offered a nostalgic glimpse of times past The City also added a selfie photo opportunity in Santa's Sleigh. Kelly's Kreations set up a candle making workshop for kids and Alachua Flowers provided an ornament making class, while the office of Michael Turner, CPA offered free gift wrapping. The Alachua Woman's Club provided other activities for children. Springs Title set up a movie screening on a building wall. Other sponsors who provided materials or funding included Vystar, Fracture, Signarama and Dollar General. All these activities are part of the Fa La La Fridays and will continue for the next two Fridays.

Other events that are part of the month-long celebration include a performance of the Nutcracker at Legacy Park on Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. The Christmas Parade will be held on Main Street on Dec. 11, a children’s bash at the Woman's Club on Dec. 12, Pizza and Pajama events with Santa at My Pizza Place on Dec. 16 and 18 and the grand opening of Manor on Main on Dec. 21. More information on all events can be found at holidaynightsonmain.com.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ The High Springs Chamber of Commerce hosted the 24^th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting on a brisk Nov. 26 evening. The event has been held continuously over the years—even through the pandemic.

Pre-Covid in 2019, the park was filled with a record crowd of families bringing their children to watch the Christmas tree lighting and a chance to meet Santa Claus. Businesses and local churches provided booths distributing candy, popcorn, cookies and other treats to the children. Another booth was set up to help children make Christmas ornaments. People dressed as Christmas characters roamed the crowd interacting with the children and posing for photos.  

Then in 2020 with the pandemic ever present, although much of the traditional fun was missing to be replaced by other activities. All the hands-on booths for face painting, gift design, card making and other activities for the children were gone due to social distancing. All treats at the booths were individually wrapped to avoid cross contact. While children still got to sit with Santa, they sat next to him, with Santa wearing a face shield and the kids in required masks. The audience was much smaller as well.

“This year we wanted to bring back the excitement and activities that had made this event a community tradition, but still be safe health wise,” said Chamber President Sharon Decker. The event was more spread out, with open air bleachers near the tree lighting. Much of the close contact games and activities like face painting were gone and all cookies and treats were handed out one at a time by gloved volunteers to limit contact. All the booths and games were held in the Farmers market at the other end of the field. Kids could still make cards and ornaments, but working as individuals to limit contact on the supplies.

The number of vendors was reduced to six, with the tables spread out. The Summit Baptist Church, High Springs Women’s Club and Garden Club had tables for children to make cards, ornaments and Christmas bookmarks. Witness of Christ Ministry gave out free cookies and baked goods. The Pink Flamingo brought a brightly lit food truck offering coffee and hot chocolate. Girl Scouts volunteered to help Santa as he listened to the children's wishes. A large model train also attracted the attention of youngsters. On a larger scale, the High Springs Lions Club brought their Polar Express train over to offer free rides to children. With the “train cars” only seating one child in open air and distanced apart, the tradition continued as the train circled the field.

But for most people it was the tree lighting and a visit from Santa that brought them to the event. As 6:30 p.m. approached, a large crowd gathered near the tree. High Springs Pastor Sammy Nelson was honored as “Citizen of the Year” and he led the crowd with a prayer, Pledge of Allegiance and introduced singer Dani MacKinzie, who sang Christmas songs.

At 6:30 sharp, Santa and Mrs. Claus were introduced and the tree was lit up with a multitude of lights and ornaments supplied by the High Springs CRA. Santa and Mrs. Claus stationed themselves at the Gazebo by the Farmers Market to listen to the long line of excited children and their wishes for Christmas.

“We were really glad how it all worked out,” said Decker. “From what I am being told, this is one of the biggest crowds and I think we were able to make it a great event and bring back the traditional celebration while still making health safety adjustments.’’

Decked sang the praises of volunteers who helped make the evening successful, crediting Chamber members and City staff, including Bruce Gillingham and David Fuller as well as the High Springs Police Department and Chief Antione Sheppard, Pastor Sammy Nelson and his church, and John Decker.

As for the future, Sharon Decker said,” We are looking forward to making it bigger next year and keep the tradition going.”

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