THREE FORKS — In Three Forks, the Christmas Stroll preparations were underway early Saturday afternoon – and for one local museum, those preparations included over 400 Christmas stockings.
“Kids just love them; it’s a real treat for them,” said Robin Cadby-Sorensen, a Three Forks resident and retired museum curator. Cadby-Sorensen is also one of the minds behind the stockings, a tradition that started in 2003.
“Before that, the museum wasn’t even open during the stroll, but we decided it would be fun to have the museum open because it was so many people in town,” she said.
WATCH: Behind the scenes of Headwaters Heritage Museum's Christmas Stroll Tradition
Cadby-Sorensen says she and her co-founder then realized they needed to have something inexpensive that they could give out to the kids who would stop by during the stroll.
“We came up with the idea of stockings, and we made them out of paper and we’d hole punch around the edges and sew them together, and then we fill them with candy and candy canes and popcorn,” said Cadby Sorensen.
She says this year, they made 432 stockings to give out to kids. “Every year it grows since 2003,” said Cadby-Sorensen.
She says the entire process from beginning to end takes a team of volunteers.
“We cut them out of this big long roll of brown paper,” Cadby-Sorensen explained. “Everybody takes as many as they think can do, and they take them home and decorate them.”
The stockings feature everything from the Grinch to the Bobcats and Grizzlies and even Mickey Mouse.
“It’s all done by hand. A lot of people cut pictures out of magazines and catalogs,” she said.
MTN’s Esha Walia asked Cadby-Sorensen why this tradition is important to the museum.
“We feel like it’s kind of a thank you to the community for the support that they give the museum,” she said.
Teri Gottlob, one of the owners of local business Glacier Kettle Korn, which makes the popcorn for the stockings, shared the same sentiment.
“It’s just a way to give back to the community, and we thought it was an awesome idea,” said Gottlob.
Cadby-Sorensen says she is thankful for the community and businesses like Glacier Kettle Korn who make this tradition happen every year.
“We thank everybody for helping out,” said Cadby-Sorensen. “I thought maybe after 20 years, we’d stop but we’re still going on.”
Cadby-Sorensen says the museum is currently fundraising to replace their windows, which were built in 1910. If you're interested in learning more, visit this link.
