By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The Niles Service League has unveiled its 2007 Christmas ornament, which features the Centre Meeting House, also known as the Morris Farms Chapel.
Tori Davies, Public Relations for the Service League, said every year they put ideas together on what would make a good ornament.
"We try to think of things that stand out or have a lot of history in the town," she said.
The idea for the Centre Meeting House came because of its rich history in the area.
It was built in 1938 as a replica of a church near Teegarden, Ind., the birthplace of the late E.M. Morris who, in 1927, began development of the land, known as Morris Farms. He purchased 1,000 acres, which is still owned by family members today.
At the time Morris constructed the church at the farm, he copied the Teegarden Church in detail and installed copies of the original stoves and lamps.
The Meeting House, for many years, was the site of Sunday night potlucks, where family and friends would gather to chit-chat. Now, the church can be rented out for weddings, funerals or other gatherings.
If you've ever been inside of the Meeting House, you know the beauty it holds. A lot of features have had to be restored overtime, as vandals caused destruction, breaking windows, shooting out lamp posts and trespassing the property. However, the church remains a wonderful place with many of fond memories.
This years ornament features the actual Meeting House with the roof lightly covered in snow. It sits inside a wreath, which appears to be wrapped in a green branch, with light snow covering them as well.
The Niles Service League chose to offer this ornament as the 10th in their series of ornaments because "it's something everyone knows about. The Meeting House is full of history and the ornament itself is just gorgeous," Davies added.
The ornaments are available at the Apple Festival this weekend. If you don't have a chance to head to the festival grounds, you can pick up an ornament at the St. Mary's Bazaar, Majerek's, the Chamber of Commerce or one of the many league memebrs or by calling Kim Meek at 687-8006.
The ornaments cost $30 each, with the money raised going to school liaison, scholarships and other community contributions.
Davies also wanted to let people know that there are a limited number of past ornaments available.