Then One Foggy Christmas Eve . . .

Let’s make today a ‘Christmas Day’ in early March!

Why wait until ‘Christmas in July’?

And who made up that rule you have to wait until July anyway? Well, it is actually a rule and journalist Katherine Owen explains, “The Real Story Behind Christmas in July Started in North Carolina”.

So we’re breaking the rule today. Gather ‘round everyone headed to the Midnight Sun Festival this weekend in the City of Lake Worth. . .


Now moving on. . .

A Special to
The Lake Worth Herald.

 By Paige Turner.

 Learn more about this
very special Little Free Library below.

The “Rudolph” Little Free Library was unveiled at Santa’s Workshop in the Cultural Plaza on December 15th, prior to the 53rd Annual Christmas Parade in Downtown Lake Worth.

To the special news in the Herald by Paige Turner. . .

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen but do you recall? Ten years before Johnny Marks wrote the song in 1949 that Gene Autry made famous and long before Burl Ives sang it as Sam the Snowman in the 1964 stop motion animated television special, “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” flew into Christmas Eve history thanks to the writer, Robert May and the artist, Denver Gillen who together created the most famous reindeer of all.

In 1939, May and Gillen worked at Montgomery Ward’s flagship department store in the copy and art departments. They were tasked with coming up with a promotion to celebrate the season; a booklet to be handed out to thousands of holiday shoppers. Thus Rudolph, the very shiny-nosed legend of that foggy Christmas Eve and hero to every child who ever felt left out, was born.

Everyone knows the story of how the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names, how they never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games until that special night when Santa chose Rudolph to lead the way. But did you know that Rudolph has a special connection to Lake Worth?

Our Downtown Jewel neighbor, Jenifer Gillen, is Denver Gillen’s daughter. Jenifer has graciously allowed Lake Worth Little Free Libraries to draw from the original illustrations created by her father to decorate our newest Little Free Library. Our Eden Place neighbor, artist Carl Stoveland, selected images from the very first printing of the booklet and lovingly recreated them using colors to match the originals.

Utterly charming depictions of Rudolph and Santa cover all sides of the Little Free Library including a special note to “Deer Lake Worth” from Rudolph himself. This homage to Denver Gillen also includes a nod to Todd Bol, the recently departed creator of Little Free Libraries which he started in 2009 in Hudson Wisconsin.



Want to go by and see “Rudolph” the Little Free Library? Rudolph is planted somewhere along South N St. Or is it North N St.? Anyway, it’s planted somewhere in that neck of the woods.

Look for him there any day or night, except on the foggiest Christmas Eves!