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Walking in a wonderland: Hundreds turn out for JALC Christmas stroll

CARTERVILLE - Area folks turned out by the hundreds Sunday afternoon for the 4th Annual Christmas Stroll at the Harrison Bruce Historic Village located on the John A. Logan campus in Carterville.

The sounds of live musical entertainment drifted through the air all afternoon as individuals, couples and families made their way around the grounds.

Artisans provided needle art demonstrations while children enjoyed a craft corner. There were also free desserts, coffee and water that guests could enjoy during their visit.

Eighty-four year old Joyce Hesketh, a familiar musician to many in southern Illinois, plucked her harp, providing Christmas music for visitors pausing for the free snacks inside the Robert Mees Center.

Across the way, Dorothy McDaniel and Sarah Shaw were entertaining visiting strollers with their own take on traditional Christmas songs on their flutes.

One of the more popular spots on the walking tour was a stop at the historic old Purdy one room schoolhouse where a group of eighth graders from Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School in Herrin provided live music while a docent there shared an oral history of the century-old building.

Docent Cheryl Trench of Herrin was busy handing out bakery treats at the event. "This is a wonderful turnout this year," she said, pausing for a just a moment from the steady stream of visitors. "In fact, this might be our biggest turnout yet for the stroll."

Many among the hundreds of guests taking in the 4th annual Christmas Stroll at the Harrison Bruce historic village Sunday took a step back in time by visiting the historic Purdy one-room school house. The old school house served students in Perry County from 1861 through 1951 before being relocated to the historic village in 1983. Ceasar Maragni photo
Dorothy McDaniel, left, and Sarah Shaw, played "The First Noel" on flutes Sunday afternoon during the 4th Annual Christmas Stroll at the Harrison Bruce Historic Village at John A. Logan College. The pair provided holiday music for those entering the Emmanuel Hunter Cabin, originally built in northeast Williamson County in 1818 and later taken apart and rebuilt on the campus. Ceasar Maragni photo