The Friends of the Troy Public Library’s 2010 Christmas ornaments featuring Southside Baptist Church have arrived and Troy Mayor Jimmy Lunsford was there waiting to make the first purchase as he has done for 15 years now.

It’s not that the mayor is trying to jump ahead of anybody. It’s just that he wants to show his support of the Friend’s annual fundraiser and his love Troy and his passion for its history.

“Many of the ornaments feature places that are just memories,” Lunsford said. “The old Troy High School, the Starlite Drive-in and Beard’s Hospital. And, of course Union Station and the Enzor Theater – places that I remember so well, so these ornaments have special meaning to me as they do to a lot of people. Not just in Troy but all around the county.”

Juanita Rogers, Friends president, said this year’s ornament features Southside Baptist Church, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary.

The church had its beginnings in 1910 when 26 people gathered on the porch of Thomas Daniels’ home and organized the Brundidge Street Sunday School. In February 1937, Southside Baptist Church was established and has continued to grow in membership and in worshipful service each year since that time.

“The first Christmas ornament that Friends of the Library offered was of Troy City Hall in 1994,” Rogers said. “The ornaments are an annual fundraiser and also a way to preserved the history of our community.

The 2010 Friends Christmas ornaments are $25 each and may be purchased at the Troy Public Library. Ornaments for First Baptist Church and First United Methodist are still available and are $11 each.

This year the Friends will also have a full collection of Friends Christmas ornaments up for bid. The ornaments were donated to Friends by Rogers and all proceeds will be used for the library.

“I just wanted to make this collection available to Friends and, hopefully, there will be a lot of interest in many of these,” Rogers said. “Once an ornament is retired, we don’t bring it back, so some people might be looking for a specific ornament to complete their collection or just want an ornament that holds a special memory.”

The ornaments in Rogers’ collection include Beard Hospital, Troy City Hall, Starlite Drive-in, Pike County Courthouse, Post Office, Troy High School, Wood-Spann House, Enzor Theater, Kilby Hall, Union Station, Edge Hospital and the Pioneer Museum of Alabama.

Bidding for each ornament starts at $25.

Bid forms are available at the Troy Public Library and the deadline for all bids is 3 p.m. Dec. 15.