Christmas Town USA - McAdenville, NC  

December 26, 2008

Friday 5:30pm

Detail:

The quiet little town of McAdenville, which lies along the South Fork River in Gaston County, N.C., comes alive in spectacular fashion each year as Christmas draws near.  Almost overnight, the small textile town is transformed into “Christmas Town, USA.”

In 1956, the McAdenville Men’s Club conceived the idea of using lights to decorate a few trees around the McAdenville Community Center.  With the permission of town officials and Mr. W. J. Pharr, President of Pharr Yarns, nine trees were decorated the first year.  Mrs. Pharr suggested the use of red, white and green lights, the traditional colors of Christmas.  Later, at Mrs. Pharr’s suggestion, the trees around the lake were decorated and the manger scene became the focal point of the Christmas decorations.  The reaction to these early efforts was so favorable that each year the number of decorated trees has been increased.  By 2004, more than 375 trees were giving off a warm holiday glow to the town and surrounding area.

Today, and for more than twenty years, Mr. J. M. Carstarphen, Chief Executive Officer of Pharr Yarns, has been instrumental in carrying on this tradition.  His support, along with the continuing cooperation of company management and townspeople alike, has ensured that McAdenville will be a special place at a very special time of year when almost every home and evergreen tree proclaim the birth of Jesus.