Local News
I'll be home for Christmas
Many residents plan to avoid travel, stay in town for holidays
Many citizens of Cooke County like to stay right here in their hometown or neighboring community to spend Christmas with family and friends, and look forward to sharing holiday traditions once more.
Melinda Cheatham said she is ready for Christmas.
“I'm going home to cook this afternoon,” she continued. “We're having pasta in a pot which is kind of a tradition on Christmas Eve. Then we have turkey and ham. For tradition we also go to a Candlelight Service on Christmas Eve. Everyone is coming home for Christmas.”
“Well, we're getting closer to being ready for Christmas,” said D.D. Blackman. “We're going right out to shop after eating lunch.”
Blackman said she and her husband, Bruce, have lived here in Gainesville for three years but, “their Christmas tradition is usually to go to Tulsa, Okla. and to spend it with Bruce’s parents and a brother there. They lived there for a long time too.”
Over in Muenster, Joyce Kindiger said she is celebrating Christmas with family there.
“We like not having to travel,” she added. “We’re having Christmas at my sisters' this year and we can walk there. It's about two blocks away.”
“We're kind of ready,” Sharon Heitzman said. “I have to go shopping one more time tonight. Then I’m finished.”
Heitzman said that family usually comes here for Christmas because she works and is a manager at Weber Aircraft. Her daughter, Casey, attends school in San Angelo and is just back to spend the holiday with them.
“For tradition we always go to Mass on Christmas Eve,” she continued. “I guess we've been doing that about twenty-something years. We always go to Mass in Pilot Point. That’s where my husband grew up.”
Karla Hutcherson said they don’t care so much to travel out for Christmas, but celebrate it here in town with family.
“A Christmas tradition is we still have turkey and dressing,” said added. “This year we are also going to have pheasant. My husband and son are pheasant hunters.”
“We couldn't give up the turkey,” said her husband David Hutcherson. “I don't understand, looks to me we eat just what we shoot,” he joked. He said they are “ready to roll” for Christmas.
Gina Dill said she and her family cook a big meal and open a lot of presents on Christmas.
“We usually don’t travel on Christmas, but a lot of people do. We just don’t have a lot of people really far off so we just stay here, and so many people, they say flying on the holidays is crazy.”
“Normal tradition at our household, since we’re grown kids now, is we come in on Christmas Eve, just with mom and dad and the three kids and then we open gifts about 5 p.m.,” said Marci Mullins. “Then we do a Christmas dinner and then we do a Midnight Mass. We’re from Muenster so we go to Midnight Mass at Sacred Heart. Back in the day when grandma and grandpa Haverkamp (Ben and Mamie) were alive, then we would go over to their house after Midnight Mass for breakfast.”
Mullins said that all of her family is pretty much here in Gainesville. “Our brother in Stephenville is the furthest one out,” she added.
Anita Morris said she likes to keep Christmas simple now and she likes to spend it here. “This is a nice place to be,” she said. “My kids are coming. So it's nice that way, not to have to be on the road.”
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