for holiday season

By JAINE TREADWELL

Features Editor

The town of Brundidge is sending an open invitation to "come back to the way it used to be" as city officials and merchants host a city-wide open house from 5 until 8 p.m. Thursday.

"When I was growing up the stores in town stayed open until around 8 o’clock and the streets would be filled with people and it was a great scene," said Brundidge Mayor Jimmy Ramage. "That’s the atmosphere we are trying to recreate with our city-wide open house."

Brundidge Florist and Jackson Hardware have traditionally held open house on the Thursday before Thanksgiving and last year several other merchants joined them. City officials also took the opportunity to invite the public to visit the newly renovated Bass House which houses the city government.

"There were a lot of people in town and everyone had a good time visiting the stores and with each other," Ramage said. "We decided a city-wide open house could be a kickoff event for the holiday season."

The city has strung its streets for the holidays and the old familiar Christmas lights will be turned on to brighten the way for visitors to town Thursday.

"The lights, which are so familiar to most of us, have been a part of the Brundidge holiday scene for 30 years or more," Ramage said. "Having them on will be an early Christmas treat and set the stage for the open house."

Last year, the city showcased the newly renovated Bass House during open house. This year, there is another facility to showcase – the newly renovated police station.

"The police department moved into its new building on North Main Street last month and we wanted to invite the public in to see what a fine facility we have," Ramage said.

Brundidge Police Chief echoed the mayor’s pride in the new facility.

"We’re quite proud of our new building and we think all of our citizens will be just as proud of it as we are," said Davenport. "We are looking forward to a big crowd in town and we hope everyone will take time to tour the new station. It’s not fully equipped as far as furniture but we have our computer system in place and, what we have been told is that our system is on the cutting edge of technology. Our system is comparable to the ones in cities like Dothan, so we are very fortunate. We appreciate the efforts of the mayor, the city administrator and the city council for their efforts which enable us to better serve the people of our community."

The Brundidge Business Association (BBA) will host the open house at the police station and individual merchants will have sales, specials and drawings for prizes in their shops.

The Brundidge Public Library will also be open for visitors as will the Johnston Mill on Church Street which is a museum of local history in progress.

"Thursday will be a great day in Brundidge and we hope everyone will join us for this special event," Ramage said.