The Way to Community is Paved with Christmas Lights
It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
Cheeks are rosy red from the cold, steam is curling up from warm, rich mugs of hot cocoa, and Bing Crosby is playing in the store on the corner.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
Cheeks are rosy red from the cold, steam is curling up from warm, rich mugs of hot cocoa, and Bing Crosby is playing in the store on the corner.
Once upon a time, a group of East Texans decided to have some fun.
They wanted to enjoy what Howard Rosser, a Winnsboro native and pioneer of Autumn Trails’ driving tour, would later describe as extraordinary beauty.
Remember in those old movies when an organization would put on a festival and the entire community would show up to eat, drink, laugh and reminisce together?
Yeah, the Hawkins Oil Festival is like that.
Being here, in this beautiful downtown with its laughing, smiling people, feels like home. It feels like being nostalgic for a time and a place many of us never lived in… it feels like the realization of the American dream.
Rocking country music plays in the background as twilight sets in. The flickering lights of a carousel shine out, softly lighting the area, as crickets and cicadas nestled in the surrounding trees set off the atmosphere to a perfect summery sweetness. Parents stand in small groups, talking, laughing, fanning, sipping, as children run around clutching hard-won prizes and sweet treats.