Downtown Pampa has a little more holiday cheer as the Heritage and Cultural Center of the Texas Plains recently planted a Christmas tree at Pioneer Cottage on Cuyler Street.
“We had worked with the City (of Pampa) to find a location where it could be seen by a lot of people,” Heritage and Cultural Center of the Texas Plains founding member, Lynn Moore, said. “They gave us several options but we chose downtown because of it’s location and the parade comes by here every Christmas.”
The tree, planted Monday by A&T Yard Service, is an Austrian Pine and is about eight to 10 feet tall and is suitable for the Panhandle weather.
“We chose that because long-needle pines do really well in this area,” Moore said. “It’s already big so we don’t have to wait for it to grow.”
The hope is for a “Hallmark movie” atmosphere to surround the tree, especially once it’s dressed up.
“We are going to turns lights on it at 5:45 p.m. right before the Chamber of Commerce Christmas parade starts,” Moore said. “Hopefully people will stay in this little park and enjoy the parade.”
Focus Magazine will have hot chocolate at the Cottage during the parade.
Moore added one of the main focuses of the Heritage and Cultural Center of the Texas Plains is to bring people together and share their stories.
“We want to learn the stories of the people and bring them together to learn more about all of the amazing people in the Texas Panhandle,” Moore said. “We want to learn about the different aspects of the cultures of the people, where they came from, etc.”
The Heritage and Cultural Center of the Texas Plains thanks the following sponsors for the tree: C&A Custom Stitching, Valorie Duncan, Finley’s, Shabby Creek, Coffee Shop, It’s a Blessed Mess, Pampa Home and Sleep Store, The Sparrow’s Nest, Itzi Bitzi, Lynne Moore, Rheam’s Diamond Shop, Della Trimble, Gores-Lewis Ranch, Tonya Lewis and Xtra Auto Center.
The Heritage and Cultural Center of the Texas Plains hopes to hold future events including art, music and cultural activities to showcase how people lived, worked and played while bringing to life individual stories.
Contact txplainshc@gmail.com, PO Box 1953 or 806-662-6530 for ideas about Panhandle people.
