The Franklin Flakes Lighting Up Christmas
Lovely Franklin wishes your family a wonderful Christmas season with a sweet backstory. We can all thank the Franklin Flakes for lighting up downtown Franklin’s Christmas tree with a star. For over 60 years, the Flakes have been childhood friends since the 1940s and 50s and raised their families in Franklin.
They call themselves “The Flakes”. These nine beautiful ladies include Gayle Brinkley, Anne Fletcher Cherry, Becky Darby, Eunetta Kready, Missy McKeand, Becky Waldrop and Mary Jo Vaillancourt. The late Marie Jordan, Paula Flaugher, and Mary Frances Ligon were also members.
The Flakes wanted to give back to the town they adore and that raised them. At their annual holiday dinner in 2016, they raised $2,500. The ladies contacted Harpeth True Value owner, Shelley Moeller, to help them find the perfect 4-foot tree topper. The previous star had been very small before the city purchased the current tree back in 2016. “We had named this tree Her Majesty,” Moeller said. “Now, she has a crown!”
Beloved member Eunetta Kready said, “We looked up and saw this very small star at the top of the tree back in 2015 and wondered if the City of Franklin would let us buy a new one?”
The Flakes got approval and also donated the bench in front of the tree to allow for pictures during the Christmas season. They believed the star and bench were a sweet gift to the town that raised them. They even wear snowman pins that say, “My best friends are flakes.”
Franklin Tomorrow raised the money through a community campaign called “We Need a Little Christmas Now” to purchase the original large tree and then gifted it to the City of Franklin. That tree was replaced by the current tree which the City did purchase. But the first big downtown tree was funded through a community effort coordinated by Franklin Tomorrow.
Every year the City of Franklin installs the tree, banners, and snowflakes in the trees around Public Square. On the first Friday of December, Franklin hosts its annual Christmas tree lighting for the public. Thousands of people filled the downtown for this year’s tree lighting with singing provided by award-winning Christian artist, Matthew West.
Thank you, Trenton Lee Photography, for your breathtaking photos of historic Franklin.
Merry Christmas from Lovely Franklin,
