By Chelsea Vance
The Selma Times-Journal

People gathered Thursday at Vaughan Place to remember and honor loved ones with a luminary service. 

Community Health Educator Karen Morris said the luminaries are a visual way to show how much people love and appreciate their family and friends.

Visitors enjoyed refreshments, Christmas lights and decorations and pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Morris gives credit to brothers Kenneth and Curtis Parker, the Selma Rotary Club and Selma and Dallas County Chamber of Commerce for their help with the project.

She said one of the things she enjoys about Christmas at Vaughan Place is the way the community gets involved.

The Parker brothers have been the masterminds behind the scenes for the past 15 years. They said that they start planning the layout for the luminaries in June and start to place decorations as early as the end of September.

“We feel like we have done something good. You can see the glow in their eyes and the expressions on their faces,” Kenneth said. “This is what makes us feel good. It makes a lot of people happy, and it keeps us going.”

It takes the brothers and other volunteers about two months to finish all of the decorating.

The Selma Rotary Club and the Selma and Dallas County Chamber of Commerce were sponsors of the event and helped by directing traffic and serving guests refreshments.

Jana Garner attended with her husband Paul and children, Sam and Fairchild.

“I think it is wonderful. I think that the intergenerational celebration is what the holidays are all about,” Garner said. “To bring that spirit here to Selma and specifically at Vaughn Place in all the ways that they do is a wonderful event. I wouldn’t miss it.”

There were a total of 184 luminaries sold for $10 each. The proceeds are used to fund activities at Vaughan Place.

Morris encourages those who purchased luminaries to come and pick them up in time for the holidays.