Christian Church

Benton, Iowa

Mount Ayr Record News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, Dec 18, 1980

Christmas Magic In Moore's Benton Party

If you didn't know the story, you'd swear that there was some kind of Christmas miracle that transforms an old Christian church into a scene of Christmas festivity once a year.

For one night in early December each year, the population of the town of Benton, usually 33, swells to 400, or this year, 500. Cars line the streets of the small community west of Mount Ayr and the warm glow of Christmas lights draws people to the old church building.

It's the annual Christmas party of the Jack MOORE family of Mount Ayr.

This year somewhere near 500 people stopped by to share in the festivities on December 12.

Greeted at the door by lighted Santa Claus decoration and either Jack or his wife, Vera, the guests came into what used to be the church sanctuary.

A huge, 30-foot Christmas tree, shining in Its decorated glory, filled one end of the building that had Christmas decorations along the walls and & lighted creche scene on the raised altar area.

One wall housed the tables of cookies and punch to feed the 'party goers." And seated and standing throughout the room were the large crowd of guests, invited especially by the MOOREs or one of their guests from earlier years.

You see, when the guests do leave, they are invited back next year with the invitation, "Come back and bring a friend." And they do.

Grouped all over the room in chairs around the edges or in clumps in the center of the room where people stand are the crowd that has made this Christmas party an extraordinary one over the years.

The highlight of the evening for many of the younger partygoers at this family affair is the visit of Santa Claus, who comes to talk with each of the kids and hand out bags of treats.

What makes Santa's visit extra special for some is that this is the same Santa Claus they have seen for the past seven years. And Santa remembers names. He makes comments on where they live or what their parents do. It's hard not to believe in a Santa like that.

"We used to thank Santa by the name he uses during the rest of the year in the paper after each party but some of those early attenders are getting old enough to read now so we don't do that anymore," Vera said.

The Christmas tradition started back in 1970 when the Christian Church in Benton was ready to sell its building. The MOOREs saw the advertisement and finally decided to put a bid in for the structure, planning to tear it down.

But after they bought it, with a family of six that was growing as the youth grew older and married, the MOOREs decided to have a family Christmas at the old church that first year.

That year the whole family, and their families, and a number of friends gathered for the celebration.

When the MOORE's oldest son, Charles, was killed in an automobile accident before the next Christmas, it made the family affair at the church even more special.

"We decided to keep the building that year for other family gatherings and if anything we need to expand instead of tear it down now," Vera joked.

From there the gathering has grown and grown and grown.

Take the tree for instance. This year the Christmas tree towered 30 feet from the floor of the church building to its ceiling, the largest tree that the family has ever decorated for the party and one that will be hard to outdo in years to come.

One of the puzzlers for many who attend is how a tree of such immense proportions is brought in through a regular size single door at the front of the church.

"Some people think we must have a secret door that we won't fess up to somewhere," Jack said. But the trick is picking the right kind of tree and using the techniques refined over the 10 years the party has been held.

The MOOREs and their family plan a day each year to get the tree cut down, brought into the church, and set up inside.

The tree is brought up the front steps and a line attached to it through the church building and to a four-wheel drive vehicle on the outside. The branches are then carefully bent and worked in through the doorway until the tree is inside the building.

The tree has to be specially chosen so that there is enough give in the limbs to be bent through the door. Last year the first tree that was tried didn't quite qualify so the family had to go back for another.

Decorating such a huge tree once it is inside is another challenge, but one that is met with another day's work by the MOOREs. Each year the decorations have increased until this year's magnificent tree displayed over 700 lights and a host of decorations.

Families that have planned treats for small Christmas gatherings can imagine what it must be like to plan for 500 guests.

Vera doesn't even try to guess how many cookies are baked or bought. "I'm a member of TOPS so I can't eat any but I enjoy seeing others have a good time," she said.

Like the-tree trimming, arranging refreshments is a family affair too with various family members responsible for cookies. Cookies arrived with each wave of guests that came to the party, too.

Helping each year are daughter, Cheryl, and her husband Dave Stuck of Grand River; daughter Jeanette and husband Dan Lutrick of Mount Ayr; daughter Susan and husband Larry Karas of Indianola, son Jay and the newest family in-law, Kim, of Oskaloosa, and daughter, Beverly, who lives at home. And of course the 11 grandchildren play their part in the observance as well.

The number of people has grown so each year, Vera joked this year about what the census takers would think if they came to Benton on this special evening. It's something like an alumni banquet.

"We have some people who have attended every one of the parties and they come back to see people that they may not see any other time of the year," she said.

"There's always a chance for a good visit with friends," she said. With 500 friends attending there is plenty of people to visit with.

The MOOREs try to schedule the party early in December so it can help get everyone in the Christmas spirit early before loo many other Christmas activities conflict. And already the plans for next year's party are underway.

It might be easier not to have such a big party each year, but Vera laughs about the preparations necessary and says, "Think of all the Christmas card writing it saves me."

So if all goes well, next year there will be a Christmas party again in Benton. And even when you know the story, you'd still bet that there's a Christmas miracle there each year.

Transcriber's note: It appears the MOORE's Christmas Parties
continued until their last one in 1985.