On Monday, November 28, the Borough of Bath held a tree lighting ceremony and Christmastime festivities for residents of all ages with a big turnout.
To begin the ceremony, Mayor Fiorella Mirabito thanked Unangst Tree Farms for donating the tree, Bob Siegfried for representing his father, Russell Siegfried, in the lighting of the tree, Bobby Siegfried for assisting with music and electronics, Kaitlin Kolonia for sharing her voice, the Bath Borough Community and Economic Development Committee and the Parks and Recreation Committee for co-sponsoring the horse drawn carriage rides, Father Christopher Butera and Pastor Terrence Walsh for their continued spiritual guidance, the Bath Borough Council and its office staff, the Public Works Department, and Bath Fire Department for their assistance and support, Cub Pack 33 and their parents for assisting with providing hot chocolate and sugar cookies to all attendees, and the one and only Santa Claus for always making time to come to Bath.
Next, Pastor Terrence Walsh from St. John’s Lutheran Church provided the opening prayer and Kaitlin Kolonia sang a beautiful rendition of the “National Anthem.”
Northampton County Councilman Tom Giovanni expressed that Bath’s tree lighting ceremony was a wonderful kickoff for the holiday season and Christmas spirit.
“One of my favorite things is watching the eyes of small children light up when they are opening up presents on Christmas. I want to wish all residents a Merry Christmas and happy holidays,” said Giovanni.
Council President Michele Ehrgott also thanked everyone that helped put the ceremony together and to attendees for coming to the ceremony.
“Throughout the year, the Borough Council, Public Works, our Parking Enforcement Officers, our Borough Manager, our office staff, we couldn’t do it without them, and we just want to say thank you, Merry Christmas, and God bless to all of your family, and we thank you because you’re out here supporting the Borough,” said Ehrgott.
Kolonia then sang “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” and “Silent Night” with the audience and Father Butera from Sacred Heart Church blessed the tree.
Mayor Mirabito shared some kind words about Russell Siegfried with the audience, whom she had chosen to light the ceremonial tree before his passing earlier this year. She expressed that Russell Siegfried served in the Navy Reserve before serving over 60 years with the Bath Volunteer Fire Company since 1959, lived in the house he was born in for all of his life, was married to his wife Louise Siegfried for over 70 years, had four children, 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren, and was an active member of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bath.
“I personally am honored and humbled to have known Mr. Siegfried. He cared deeply about this borough, cared deeply about the people here, and he cared deeply about his family. Sadly, we all had to say goodbye, so in memory of him, I’m going to call up his son Bob who may say a few words,” Mayor Mirabito said.
Next, Bob Siegfried shared a few words about his father, Russell Siegfried.
“It was indeed an honor to be asked to light the Christmas tree in honor of my father. I would like to take this opportunity to extend a very special thank you to the members of the Bath firefighters for all they did to honor my father’s service and for being such a large part of his funeral service. What they did to honor my dad at his funeral service was nothing short of incredible and was very moving to my entire family. My dad was very proud of his many years of service to this local fire company, which truly meant a lot to him. Even after he retired from active service, he looked forward to going to all those meetings on a Monday night. In his later years, he would tell me how much the guys enjoyed the cookies he would bring to the meetings. It was just his way of showing that he cared about them and the volunteer service they provided to the community. Again, thank you mayor for honoring my father for his service to our local community. It means a lot to me personally and to his entire family for him to be remembered this way,” Bob Siegfried expressed.
The audience helped count down from five and Bob Siegfried lit the beautiful tree in Monocacy Creek Park where kids from one to 92 (and even their furry friends) posed for holiday pictures in front of the enormous colorfully lit tree.
Then, Santa Claus rode in on his big red firetruck with goodies for the kids and the big guy tentatively listened to all of their Christmas wishes and posed for photos.
