“Warren Wishes You Merry Christmas Happy New Year”
Jim begins putting hundreds of bulbs in the “Warren Wishes You” sign.
Ever since I was little, I can remember the "Warren Wishes You Merry Christmas Happy New Year" sign magically appearing after Thanksgiving. Lit up in red on the banks of the Allegheny River in downtown Warren, as a child I always envisioned elves scurrying around in the night, building it piece by piece right there on the spot. Today I finally got to see who makes the magic happen and it turns out - it's way cooler.
I spent the morning with the Warren Wrestling Team - fifteen teenagers and their two coaches - and helped as each of the 39 aluminum frame letters were unloaded. They were much larger up close than I anticipated, roughly 10-11' tall, and fortunately, way lighter than I'd thought, too.
Once unloaded, the real fun began. At the direction of Shawn from the City of Warren, a starting point was picked, and the letter hunt began. It's really something to watch huge 11' letters being moved in all directions, one wrestler on each side carrying them. "Anyone seen an H?" and, "I know where there's an S! Over here!" were both heard as the words started coming together. A little over an hour after they began, the Warren Wrestling Team had completed their job. Well done, guys!
Shawn is the one to get the call any time a letter goes dark or falls over.
But the story of the sign being lit doesn't end there. Unloaded and upright, a stake is then put in the ground at each letter and fastened to the aluminum pole by screw. This is all done by Shawn, who's worked at the City of Warren, and on the "Warren Wishes You" sign, for more than 20 years. He then adds a stake in-between each letter and fastens them, too.
Shawn shares a bit about the changes throughout the years. When he first started, the sign was put up entirely by the Jaycees, and he simply made sure the power was running. But over time, the City took on the project. The Warren Wrestling Team jumped in to volunteer their help about 10 years ago, and it was clear how thankful Shawn is, saying, "Wrestlers help out big time. Just having them unload and set up is huge."
After getting everything in place and staked properly, with rain starting to fall pretty steady, Shawn and his part-time helper Jim start the hours-long task of screwing in hundreds of red light bulbs. From there they'll run all the cords, and ultimately, plug it in.
It's definitely worth noting, any time a letter has gone dark or fallen over - Shawn is the one to get the call. For years he's been quietly troubleshooting outlets, cords, and sockets, to be sure all those bright red letters are lit along the riverbank for us to see.
Turns out, what I'd thought were elves all those years ago, were actually awesome community members of all ages that come together on a rainy, chilly morning the day after Thanksgiving to create a little Christmas magic for all of us.
A big thank you to the Warren Wrestling Team, Shawn, and Jim for being part of making Warren such a special to live!
