City of Westerville issued the following announcement on Dec. 15.
Each year following the Thanksgiving holiday, a traditional decoration takes its place over Main and State Streets in Uptown Westerville, signaling the holiday season for the entire month of December. The Westerville Holiday Star has a long history in our community, dating back to the mid-1930s when holiday spirit was much needed.
It was during the Great Depression that the Westerville Businessman's Association, led by Percy Yantis, started looking for a way to bring business to the Uptown area and to make the holidays seem brighter for a community that like the rest of the country was suffering tough economic times. Yantis went to Westerville City Manager Ross Windom with the idea of a large star which could hang over State St. in the main intersection of the shopping area.
Windom liked the idea and commissioned local tinsmith George Alexander to create the star. Alexander was known for both his tin work and musical talent, as he was also director of the Westerville Band. He created the star in his shop, located in Uptown off of College Ave. Alexander passed away in 1939 at the age of 55 after 35 years in the tinsmith business.
The community newspaper at the time, The Public Opinion, published an article in its December 5, 1935 edition that profiled the Star, saying "The business section of the village has taken on a holiday appearance with the erection of the Christmas decorations. A noteworthy addition this year is a huge star electrically lighted and hanging high over the street at the corner of State and Main Sts."
In 2008, the 40-watt incandescent lamps that light the Star were exchanged with two-watt LED lamps. Now instead of consuming enough electricity to power a home for one month, the Star consumes approximately that of a small refrigerator for the same one month period, without diminishing the beauty of this legacy ornament.
This year, the Star was installed the first week of December.
Original source can be found here.
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