Christmas comes to Depot Museum

The Shafter Depot Museum held their annual Christmas at the Depot and drew a crowd to celebrate the start of the Christmas season. The Shafter Brass Band was there performing classic holiday tunes, as the attendees were treated to hot chocolate, coffee, tea and cookies.

The children had the opportunity to get their picture taken with Santa Claus, and all of them received a candy cane and a Christmas gift.

The museum was lit up with several Christmas trees that were decorated for the annual Christmas Tree contest. Several clubs, churches and organizations decorated trees. This year, each entrant had the chance to pick their own theme and decorate their tree any way they wanted. When people came in, they were given a ballot to vote on their favorite tree. The Rotary Club tree was adorned with Rotary seals and ornaments, as was the Kiwanis tree decorated with their logo.

The Shafter Press tree has an array of pictures that had been taken throughout the year, and tiny newspapers with the year's headlines on them. They also had pictures of the staff on the tree.

The Shafter Woman's Club had a beautifully adorned tree with shiny bulbs and ornaments mixed with personalized ornaments from the different members, just to name a few of the decorated trees on display.

All of the trees will be on display at the museum until Jan. 5, which is open each Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.. Visitors are encouraged to vote for their favorite as they view the large collection of memorabilia from the rich history of Shafter, from police badges and equipment from decades ago to the original menus for the classic trains that used to roll through town. From the history of potatoes and cotton to present day, the items cover what's happened in the area through more than 100 years. New items are continually added to the collection.