PARIS!

FOR THE HOLIDAYS 2022

On The Cover: Hadley Kate, daughter of Griffin and Mary Kate Paschall, enjoyed the sights and sounds of her first Christmas morning last year.

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Editor’s Notes

JOYOUS READING!

Let me be the first to wish you a joyous Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year! I hope you’ll enjoy our selections of holiday cheer as much as I have.

I loved the Chamber staff ’s heart-warming piece that highlights their Christmas memories and traditions that they carry on for their own families. Spoiler alert, this will fill you with happy tears.

Music is in the air at Christmas and no one loves tunes like our newest columnist, Kathy Ray. In Soundtracks, Ray spotlights local artists and tells us what makes them tick…and pick. Don’t miss her piece on Rockin’ Randall French.

When it comes to music, the Krider Performing Arts Center has become a regional hub. From professional tours to grade school performances, KPAC Director Rhonda Stanton fills us in on her holiday lineup.

Do you like to be entertained without ever leaving the comfort of your recliner? Look no further than Dan Jackson’s, “Cats Love Christmas,” where his cats, Kevin and Gloria, take center stage.

Armchair entertainment of a different kind is offered in Paris Cuisine.

Entrepreneur and cooking video guru Sam Hutson explain how he and his wife, Hannah are building fans for their Crove Food Co. products.

Our community is full of presents disguised as people. Find out more in “Tony Lawrence: Person Of The Year Is A Gift To Paris,” “Paris Public Works: The Unsung Heroes Of The Holidays,” and “The Berryman House: Calling All Angels.”

Our Bicentennial celebration continues with “The Governor’s Gift” and “One School, Two Centuries.” Don’t miss a 19th century holiday tale appropriately entitled, “A Christmas Gift of a Different Kind.”

And who better to wrap up this issue than John Watkins with his annual reflection “Thankful Gardener.” We’re thankful to you, John, for helping us count our many blessings.

Cheers!

Smantha

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In This Issue

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THE PAST 200 YEARS: The Governor's Gift

By Shannon McFarlin

At the turn of the century, this ornate vase sat on Governor James D. Porter’s mantle in his home on Dunlap Street in Paris. Now, thanks to a generous donation from family, it has found a home in the Henry County Archives.
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SPOTLIGHT: Tony Lawrence, Person of The Year

By Susan Jones

Admit it. We Parisians take our Parks and Recreation Department for granted. While they never make a fuss about their hard work, they do make a SPLASH! at the Splash Park, a WHOP! at the new pickleball courts, and a WHISH at the renovated basketball courts at Johnson and Ogburn Parks. They even make an occasional WOOF! at the dog park
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AROUND OUR TOWN: Paris Public Works, Unsung Heroes

By Karen Geary

During the holidays in Paris, there’s much joy, goodwill — and trash! And lots of it! The job of clearing the refuse and keeping the city maintained year-round falls on the crews of the Public Works Department.
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MERRY AND BRIGHT: Berryman House: Calling All Angels

By Shannon McFarlin

It was a case of now-you-see-it and now-you-don’t, and the results are spectacular. The majestic two-story house seen on Highway 69N on the way to Cottage Grove is jaw-droppingly beautiful, and its history is just as impressive.
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REMEMBER WHEN

Paris always goes all out for the holidays with numerous activities, such as open houses, school programs, and unique decorations lighting up our sweet town each year. Let’s take a stroll down Memory Lane, to the more recent past, for this issue’s Remember When section and do just that: Remember the people and beauty of our holiday seasons.
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FEATURE: Memories, Moments, People...How We Celebrate The Holidays

By Travis McLeese

The Holidays are a busy time at the Chamber offi ce. We spend months preparing for events, developing marketing content, decorating, with the hope of creating a special atmosphere in our community. After all, we believe that we can create a festive experience for shoppers that will inspire them to shop local and bring others into our local businesses to do their holiday shopping.
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SCHOOL OF THOUGHT: One School, Two Centuries

By Meredith Vajda

Paris Academy for the Arts is celebrating its Bicentennial, along with the City of Paris and Henry County, during this two-year period of 2021-2023. The Arts Academy owns a building, and the site has always been the location of a school since the early 1820s when 60 prominent men pooled their resources to build Male Academy. Classes were in session by the 1830s.
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT: 'Tis the Season to be Entertained!

By Rhoda Stanton

The holiday season is often a flurry of activity with opportunities and obligations to shop, plan, gather, and worship. I hope that this coming season will also include some opportunities to support local arts and school events at the Krider Performing Arts Center (KPAC). The KPAC Calendar is packed, and we hope the house will be packed all season, as well
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SOUNDTRACKS: Rockin' Randall

By Kathy Ray

The state of Tennessee is home to seven genres of music – blues, bluegrass, rock ’n roll, rockabilly, country, gospel, and soul. Nashville, Tennessee, might be known as Music City USA, but Henry County is a community filled with talented musicians and songwriters, too.
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PARIS CUISINE: Crove Food Company

PARIS! was able to catch up with busy Sam Hutson, President of Crove Media and Crove Food Co., to ask him about his latest venture – rubs and seasonings! Joining him in the companies is his wife, Hannah, who is a Physician Assistant and professor at the Bethel University PA Program.
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FACES & PLACES: People & Events About Town

Don’t miss this fun section chock full of fun, education, music and every good thing in Paris and Henry County.
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JUST FOR FUN: Crossword Puzzle Fun

Test your word skills with this fun, holiday crossword puzzle!
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FEATURE: Cats Love Christmas

By Dan Jackson

The best thing about cats and Christmas is you don’t have to worry about that Elf on the Shelf. Okay, I’m kidding, sort of. If you’ve got a cat in the house, you definitely would have to worry about the Elf on the Shelf.
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FEATURE: Worst Christmas Present Ever!

During the holiday party gift exchange, were you the one who received a large box of chocolate covered cherries that nobody wanted? Or did you receive camping gear from your beloved — the same equipment he had been eyeing in the store — with the promise, “You’ll love the great outdoors”? Could it be any worse than the women in your office receiving dish towels from their clueless boss?
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REMINISCENCE: A Christmas Gift of a Different Kind

By Thomas "Gary" Wallis

The week prior to Christmas 1879 was a very wet one in Paris, Tennessee, so much so that The Paris Post would bemoan, “Mud is thriving in our town!” Things were not all bad, for the newspaper also reported, “Saturday [the 20th] was a good day for trade, notwithstanding the mud and slosh the people came in and dealt extensively, and much liquor found a resting place before the day closed.”
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IN THE GARDEN: The Thankful Gardener

By John Watkins

As I was going back over some of my notes for this Holiday issue of PARIS! Magazine, I realized that this will be my 10th year of writing “Thank-you” notes for things I’m thankful for in the gardening world. I guess that’s something to be thankful for right there, so I’ll start out by saying “Thank You” to Smantha Parker and the staff at PARIS! Magazine for putting up with all of my last minute submissions and crazy ramblings for almost a decade.
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