San Benito’s Christmas tradition continues

 

City of San Benito employees decorate Sam Houston Boulevard for the holiday season.                                                                    (Staff photo by Jacob Lopez)

City of San Benito employees decorate Sam Houston Boulevard for the holiday season. (Staff photo by Jacob Lopez)


By JACOB LOPEZ
Staff Writer
reporter@sbnewspaper.com

The longstanding San Benito tradition of decorating the main stretch of Sam Houston Boulevard is still going strong in the city.

Every year, the City of San Benito decorates lamp posts and fixtures with the festive ornaments. Interestingly, nobody can pinpoint when the tradition started. City of San Benito Public Affairs Coordinator Martha McClain said that it began with the Chamber of Commerce.

Former Assistant City Manager Hector “Chuck” Jalomo, who is referred to by many as an “encyclopedia of San Benito” due to his 47 years of experience working for the municipality, said, “As far back as I can remember,” when asked when the tradition first began.

“I got involved … back in 1983, but it was already in place,” Jalomo added.

His best estimate was 1980.

The City reuses many of the decorations, including the wrought iron frames that made up the older ornaments, according to McClain.

It can be difficult to truly get a sense of how large these hanging decorations are when they are attached to a light post, but the city provided that information to appease the curious.

Included this year are two Victorian skyline decorations that extend across the city’s main thoroughfare; they weigh in at 140 pounds each and are 50 feet long.

In addition, the city has several pole-mounted Christmas decorations, including: four Santa Claus decorations – each 8 feet tall and weighing 51 pounds; four snowmen – each 8 feet tall and weighing 45 pounds; four snowflakes – each 5 feet tall and weighing 38 pounds; four stockings – each 8 feet tall and weighing 34 pounds.

This year, the Heavin Memorial Park will also be decorated with 16-foot fishing elves, an 11-foot animated silhouette of a Barbell Trainer and a 10 foot waving Santa.

City maintenance workers tasked with hanging the festive decorations on Tuesday said it takes roughly six hours to install the entirety of the holiday ornaments.

 

Permanent link to this article: https://www.sbnewspaper.com/2014/11/21/san-benitos-christmas-tradition-continues/

5 comments

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    • Concerned on December 3, 2014 at 11:39 am
    • Reply

    For the record, I believe the Christmas parade was developed and maintained through thick and thin by the Chamber of Commerce until they went belly up…but that was before big box retail and pay day loans TOOK OVER our community.
    It is sad to see the mad rush to the big box retailers as they sell us Chinese garbage while the parade marches down the street with Chinese ornaments hanging above our heads! Progress? I don’t think so. But don’t take my word for it…

    http://ilsr.org/key-studies-walmart-and-bigbox-retail/

      • Ima Roach on December 3, 2014 at 9:25 pm
      • Reply

      Not that I disagree with you but wasn’t one of the board members of the chamber of commerce the general manager of the San Benito big box retailer Walmart?

        • Concerned on December 4, 2014 at 9:32 am
        • Reply

        Yes, he was. It was under his leadership (or lack of) that the Chamber faltered and then went belly up. For the last few years the Chamber was funded almost entirely by the City! The truth is that the so-called board of directors never showed up for meetings and the director did whatever he pleased. There was no accountability.

    • Alan on November 28, 2014 at 8:51 pm
    • Reply

    Well I can tell you the tradition goes back further than that. Viewing pictures from back in the 50s and 60s on the Growing Up in San Benito page on FB, San Benito seems to have been decorated in various forms since the 50s. Mainly decoration that were put on wires going across Sam Houston and some on lightpoles. I know personally back in late 70s and early 80s the SBFD put the decorations up as ladder practice. I also had the pleasure of talking to Chamber of Commerce person Bill McNutt and he was the one responsible for getting new candle motif decorations in the mis to late 80s with the two Christmas trees that were at the intersections of sam Houston and Robertson and at Sam Houston and Stenger. There was always some sort of “Seasons Greeting” or “Happy Holidays” where the corner of the Church of Christ and old Post Office were. Amazing what weird things you remember. If you look in amny SBN archives I am sure you would find scads of pics. I think its cool San Benito still does it even when other cities haev discontinued the trasition

    1. Thanks for the insight, Alan. We definitely hope it continues.

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