Categories
- Buying
- Benicia
- Investors
- Vallejo
- Solano
- Contra Costa
- Selling
- Market Update
- Loans / Financing
- Foreclosures / Short Sales
- Local Stuff
- Fun Stuff
- Vacaville
- Fairfield-Gr Valley
- Suisun City
- The Economy
- Viewpoint
- New Listings
- Resources
Archive
- July 2011 (1)
- June 2011 (2)
- May 2011 (2)
- April 2011 (3)
- March 2011 (6)
- February 2011 (4)
- May 2010 (5)
- April 2010 (30)
- March 2010 (7)
- February 2010 (6)
- January 2010 (11)
- December 2009 (15)
- November 2009 (10)
- October 2009 (20)
- September 2009 (13)
- August 2009 (15)
- July 2009 (10)
- June 2009 (9)
- May 2009 (18)
- April 2009 (14)
- March 2009 (14)
- February 2009 (22)
- January 2009 (21)
- December 2008 (7)
- November 2008 (1)
- October 2008 (2)
- September 2008 (8)
Why There’s No Ferris Wheel On Solano Drive This Year
December 20th, 2008 categories: Benicia, Local Stuff
See Below For The Entire Poem
If you’ve taken a drive down the 400 block of Solano Drive this holiday season, you know that the familiar ferris wheel, ice skaters and holiday train that were always a favorite stop for holiday light seekers is no more.
In its place is a touching poem (see below) written by the man who helped make Benicia a little more festive each year with his grand holiday display. Scotty Hughes, the grand patriarch of Benicia’s holiday spirit wrote the poem, which he entitled “Farewell To Winter Wonderland” shortly before he died this past May, at the age of 89. His family found the hand-written poem next to his favorite chair a few days after he passed away.
As a tribute to “Mr. Winter Wonderland,” his family had the poem enlarged and printed and has it displayed proudly on the lawn that for many years always housed his colorful holiday fantasy display at this time of year.
I had the privilege of knowing Scotty very well for the past 20-plus years. You never met a kinder more wonderful man. He lived for his family and originally created his holiday display for his grandchildren. Over the years it grew and grew and grew into what eventually became a multi-time Grand Prize winner for the Winter Wonderland decorating contest — an event I chaired and helped produce for many years.
A Humble Man
But Scotty never decorated his yard in order to win a contest prize. He did it for his grandchildren AND for all the children of Benicia. On those occasions when I would call Scotty to give him the good news that he had won one of the Winter Wonderland prizes, he humbly shrug his shoulders and give an “oh that’s great…thank you” but would always remind me that though he appreciated the prize greatly, he never decorated with the idea of winning a prize; he would do it whether or not there was a contest.
One year, a huge storm swept through Benicia a day or so before Winter Wonderland judging night. Benicia was littered with downed trees, power lines, flooded streets and all sorts of other debris that the storm’s fury had tossed about. Among the casualties were some of the homes with holiday displays. None of them, though, took as big a hit as Scotty. It looked as if a tornado had taken dead aim on his front yard. The ferris wheel was broken and laying on its side. Everything else was either upside down, broken or scattered everywhere.
A few of the contestants who had also experienced damage called asking if we could postpone our judging for a day or two so they could repair their displays. Given the circumstances, we were, of course, happy to oblige. Scotty wasn’t one of the callers, but I called to let him know that we were making plans to schedule a new judging night.
His response? “Well don’t just do it on my account.” He felt that everyone had been impacted equally by the storm and it wasn’t fair to postpone the judging just so he could restore his displays. I thanked him for his graciousness, but assured him that we were doing it to give all the contestants an opportunity to restore their displays.
That’s just the kind of man Scotty was. He always did things for the right reasons. Never wanted an unfair advantage; always believed in earning what you received. That he continued to erect his holiday display into his very late 80s is a further testament to the kind of man Scotty Hughes was.
Those of us who knew him well miss his quick wit, his jolly disposition and his goodwill. In my mind he was and always will be “Mr. Winter Wonderland”. If you have a chance, drive down Solano Drive, take a moment and read the touching poem that Scotty penned shortly before he died. It’s his final gift to the people of Benicia.
