Fixing snowflake skeletons
Although spring is in bloom in Butler County, there still are several snowflakes that refuse to melt, some having been around since 1994.
On April 9, members of Butler Downtown and student volunteers from Slippery Rock University picked up these snowflakes — mechanical lights the city nonprofit has used to illuminate Main Street for decades — to strip them of their bulbs and skeletons.
Krista Washkau, board secretary of Butler Downtown and chairwoman of its promotions committee, said the lights are being refurbished, and the organization is selling their parts to raise money for the renovation.
“This year while we refurbish them we are going to replace the LED bulbs,” Washkau said. “We are estimating (the refurbishment) could (cost) up to $10,000. Anything we can reuse or resell, we are going to try to do that to raise the money.”
The refurbishment of Butler Downtown’s snowflake lights is phase two of the Christmas decoration campaign. The first phase was completed last year when the nonprofit raised about $18,000 to buy 20 new lights.
Washkau said the white color emanating from the new lights is a different shade from that of the old lights. Phase two of the project aims to reline the skeletons of the lights and adorn them with the same color bulbs of the new snowflakes.
Washkau said Butler Downtown is pushing to refurbish the lights by the Christmas season, and the organization might have another “Service Saturday” once the bulbs arrive to finally fix the 1990s-era lights.
“We will be rewiring them and replacing the bulbs to match the new ornaments,” Washkau said. “We are also investigating businesses here downtown that are willing to have their employees chip in.”
