Merry Christmas Harriet (Original)
On marble pedestal in the center of town stands life-size statue of Henry Chadwick, the founder of the green meadow orphanage and the first mayor of town.
Cradled in his left arm is the likeness of a small child -no one is quite sure who she was. They say he was an inspiration. They say he was a true leader among men. His authority and prominence was even reflected in the statue they erected in the town square. It was designed to forever show his right arm and index finger extended outward, pointing the way for the rest to follow.
Four years, it’s been the practice of the townspeople to keep an eye on that loan index finger. They use it to help them forecast winter’s fury.
As the story goes, if his finger stays covered with snow for more than three days, and is at least 3 inches thick, then it’s sure to be a long snowy winter – at least that’s how the story goes.
Well… The village of green meadows was once again covered in a fresh new blanket of perfect white snow. And the mayor’s finger: over 5 inches deep for more than a week now! Yes, it was definitely wintertime in the Valley.
One was reminded of a wintry picture postcard: the kind with snow falling on a horse-drawn sleigh as it jingles its way into a perfect little town. It was like this most of the time come winter. When you live this far east you just get used to having snow in December – and plenty of it.
Not only was it winter, but it was fast approaching everyone’s favorite time of year. It was December, 21st to be exact, just four days until Christmas – the town was simply filled with the spirit.
The snow-covered homes all had brightly decorated Christmas trees in them, and over half the decorations on the outside as well. You could walk down any given street in town and be assured to smell the wonderful aroma of Christmas baking in the air.