Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 034, Ed. 1 Friday, December 24, 2010 Page: 1 of 14
fourteen pages : ill.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
CM K
' DEDICATED TO PROUDLY DELIVERING LOCAL* NEWS. slNCfe 1S81
.vww.sweetwaterrenorrer.com
Friday, December 24, 2010
113, Issue 034 ■ 50 cents
Life
Stocking
raffle winners
announced
— See
Religion
Local churches
planning
special services
- See r
Inside
See more Santa
visit photos
— See Page 12
Read the
letters to Santa
section today
NOTICE
If you miss your
Sweetwater Reporter you
should call evenings from
5:30-6:00 p.m.
Monday thru Friday.
If you miss your Sunday
paper please call from 8-
9:30 a.m., and we will con-
tact your carrier.
236-6677
97
13 10522
Countdown house a treat for many
k v 1 n n nre ihf*—i ^
±Y.
&
American Legion donates to WTCflC
Coach David Mayes and his wife Genevieve 'Ginny' Mayes have lived at 306 Lamar, the 'Christmas Countdown
house' for 28 years. The Mayes loved children and they wanted to do something special for the children of Sweetwater
at Christmas. With David being a math teacher at Sweetwater High School, he came up with the idea of a 'countdown'
until Christmas. He chose the upstairs window to place the homemade countdown board for all to see as they drove
down Lamar Street and also for the students entering Sweetwater Middle School in the morning.
Used TV
sets needed
BIG SPRING - We don't
know what Santa plans to
put under your tree this
Christmas, but if you hap-
pen to be surprised with
a new flat-screen, plasma
television set, Big Spring
State Hospital would be
more than happy to take the
old one off your hands.
Big Spring State Hospital
needs used tube televi-
sion sets for patient areas,
Big Spring State Hospital
Assistant Superintendent
Lorie Couch said.
"The donated television
sets will be used in patient
living areas and be used
to add to the therapeutic
setting we provide for our
patients," Couch said. "Each
of our patient living units
has a shared living area
• See TV page A3
..
to
H-
The Roscoe American Legion Unit #227 Women's Auxiliary recently donated
a check to the West Texas Children's Advocacy Center to help a family with
Christmas gifts this holiday season. Shown are Amanda Fullwood with WTCAC
and Kristi Williams with the Auxiliary, presenting the check.
Photo by Tatiana Rodriguez
Santa visits Sweetwater Healthcare Center
Santa traveled a long distance in his scooter to visit the residents at Sweetwater Healthcare Center. Friends, fam-
ily, staff and residents celebrated the season earlier this week and opened gifts with Santa.
Photos by Brett Smith
M.
0H HOLV NlbHT! THE STARS ARE BRISHTLV SHININ6'
You know it's almost
Christmas in Sweetwater
when Coach David Mayes
has his lights up counting
down the days to the 25th
of December.
But how did the
yearly tradition begin?
"Sweetwater resident
Kandy Myers was curi-
ous — just as most of us
a re - and took her inves-
tigation directly to the
Mayes to find out how
the countdown started.
"It's always been such
a big focus of the city,"
said Myers. "I met with
Ginny Mayes and asked
if anyone had ever ran an
article. When she told me
no, 1 thought something
should be done." Myers
had Mayes travel back
down memory lane to
share with her as well as
the community, about the
"Christmas Countdown"
house.
Coach David Mayes
moved to Sweetwater
in 1980 where he began
coaching the Sweetwater
Mustangs and teaching
math. In 1982, he mar-
ried Genevieve 'Ginny'
Mayes and they have
lived at 306 Lamar, the
'Christmas Countdown
house' for 28 years.
The Mayes loved chil-
dren and they wanted to
do something special for
thechildren of Sweetwater
at Christmas. With David
being a math teacher at
Sweetwater High School,
he came up with the idea
of a 'countdown' until
Christmas. He chose the
upstairs window to place
the homemade count-
down board for all to
see as they drove down
Lamar Street and also
for the students enter-
ing Sweetwater Middle
School in the morning.
On Thanksgiving night,
the numbers are turned
on and every morning the
numbers are changed by
hand by Coach Mayes or
his wife. A favorite fam-
ily memory is when one
of the daughters, Elyse,
wanted to start chang-
ing the numbers. Later
in the day someone men-
tioned the numbers were
backwards; once again,
Coach Mayes assumed
the duty of changing the
numbers.
The Mayes have four
children: Elizabeth (25),
Kendall (23), Elyse (21)
and Kristopher (17).
It's always been fun for
the Mayes to hear sto-
ries from their children's
friends about making
their parents drive by the
house to see the days until
Christmas. It is very spe-
cial to see children's faces
light up when they are
introduced to the Mayes'
as the ones with the
Christmas Countdown in
the window. Squeals and
big smiles are treasured.
"How many days until
Christmas? Just drive
past 306 Lamar for the
exact number of days
until Christmas.
Merry Christmas from
the Mayes!
1
shopping days
'til Christmas
—smdodgg:
Formerly Days Inn
701 SW Georgia • 235-4853
Sweetwater, Texas
CM K
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 034, Ed. 1 Friday, December 24, 2010, newspaper, December 24, 2010; Sweetwater, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth229351/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sweetwater/Nolan County City-County Library.