Merry Maple, UMass Marching Band
Okay, so it may not be visible to the astronauts aboard the space station, but it certainly is bright enough to warm the heart of the most curmudgeon of Amherst citizens (including me).
Well done Business Improvement District, well done.
9 comments:
So- When are the Fall decorations coming off the lamp posts?
They were switching them out this morning.
Good picture, thanks! Couldn't be there. I'll look for it tonight!
Can you remind me why we light a maple tree- I know it's a movie reference (a movie filmed in town?)
The reason has gotten lost over the years!
I think just for the (M&M) alliteration.
The movie "Silent night, Lonely Night" (starring Lloyd Bridges) was filmed in 1969, and they had the Merry Maple fired up off season for the film, but it was already a "tradition" by then.
Found your mention of the history...
"the Merry Maple dates back to at least 1968 because--how could I forget?--Hollywood came calling that spring to film "Silent Night, Lonely Night" and turned the town common into a winter wonderland."
1968? Who is around to remember?
It's not a Holiday Classic- Maybe Amherst Cinema should show it each year to inform folks of the reference!
(the 50th anniversary is approaching- time to embrace the history- or change the tradition!)
"Two proper strangers meet by chance in a small Vermont country inn. He is there to visit his wife, a mental patient at the nearby university, and she has come to see her student son after learning of her husband's infidelity. Loneliness and despair soon bind them together, leading to a poignant and haunting Christmas holiday interlude. A beloved made-for-television treasure."
Movie available in full on Youtube
Watched it...
The opening credits start with a full screen Thank You to Amherst
They use the name "Lord Jeffrey Inn" (surprised it wasn't changed) Seemed like CT- as they spoke of the Merritt Parkway!
Lots of familiar Amherst scenes.
Lots of snow (like the winters we remember from our youth)
Maybe Shirley Jones would like to visit us again as the 50th yr approaches (so she can see the updates to the inn and cinema) lol
Since we changed the tradition to include a menorah on the common, what would it hurt to include a Christmas tree?
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