Ohio Valley Gets in the Christmas Spirit
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As friends and family across the valley open gifts and eat cookies, Wheeling residents have a variety of plans to commemorate the holiday this year.
While grabbing a bite to eat and getting some last-minute shopping done, Centre Market customers shared what gets them in the Christmas spirit.
At the Market Cafe, old friends Ron Johnson and Karen Gordon Young were catching up over a coffee. Both had similar plans to capture the magic of the season.
Johnson, who looks forward to the arrival of his children from Columbus, Ohio, and Memphis, Tennessee, finds Christmas spirit in "connecting with family."
Young will visit her daughter in Charlotte, North Carolina, and looks forward to the trip every year. The one downside to the visit is her 5 a.m. departure time from the Pittsburgh Airport, but Young is willing to brave the early wake-up call to see her loved ones.
"I'm taking my mother with me so she can celebrate accordingly with the grandchild," added Young. "I'm trying to get into the true spirit of the holiday - the celebration of Christ, not commercialism."
Local Beth Sheridan will also find the Christmas spirit with her family. She has plans to drive to Youngstown, Ohio, to visit her brothers.
"We've lost a lot of very loved ones this year, so this is going to be kind of a sad trip," lamented Sheridan. "This Christmas will just be a little bit of a quiet time to get together."
Avoiding any early flight times, Sheridan is looking forward to a peaceful drive and the quiet Christmas that will follow.
An even quieter Christmas will be spent by Ohio farmers Steve Harper and Chris Creamer. The two were in town for a wake, so they took extra time away from the animals to enjoy Coleman's Fish Market sandwiches.
"We're taking a little bit more time off today, but we have to be back by the farm before sundown to check on the animals," said Harper.
Joking that the "cows and chickens don't celebrate the holiday," Harper explained Christmas is "just another day" for the two due to their time-consuming jobs. Scared he may seem "like a Scrooge" for the opinion, Harper noted that it was hard to take time away to enjoy the holiday as "you always wonder whether something was going wrong back home."
"The holiday is just another day for me, but I don't resent anyone who enjoys it," he added. "When I was younger, I definitely got more of a kick out of it."
One Centre Market employee free of any Scrooge-like inclinations was Michael's Beef House owner Kim Pappas. Her store was filled with Christmas cheer, as a tree sat in the corner and poinsettias decorated tables.
Pappas wanted to make sure her customers felt the Christmas spirit.
"We have 4,500 lights up in here," detailed Pappas. "If your trees don't twinkle, you don't have enough lights on."
Enjoying a pre-Christmas feast of grilled cheeses, waffles and coffee from Market Cafe, mother and daughter duo Erica and Morgan Stauver were also all-in for the holiday.
The Stauver Christmas will consist of bouncing back and forth between family members' houses. The family is planning to make it to church "at some point during the day," joked Morgan, who is looking forward to a gift exchange with her cousins the most.
"We always go up to my grandma's house on Christmas Eve, and then everybody comes up to our house on Christmas Day," said Morgan. "We just started going to my other grandma's house on Christmas Eve because her dad passed away.
"Christmas has kind of helped bring both sides of the family together."
Erica was also excited to spend quality time with her daughter, who was home from West Liberty for the holiday.
"She's a good kid, but she's busy at school, so she comes and goes," explained Erica. "Christmas is good because it's a nice small break from school, so her roommates come over to our house and hang out, too."