Month: December 2025

By Forrest Sanders

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    FRANKLIN, Tennessee (WTVF) — One man’s new Christmas tradition is quite the tribute to his city. It’s something that takes a whole lot of patience, but people are loving how it’s all turning out.

“People are always pretty surprised when they hear it’s just Styrofoam, Elmer’s, and paint!” said Gregg Zollinger, meticulously working on a piece.

Zollinger lives in Franklin. He loves downtown.

“We love the energy that it has,” he said. “I love seeing the old buildings.”

A few years ago, when Zollinger’s wife was looking to buy a little Christmas Village, Zollinger had this idea. What if downtown Franklin became something of a muse to create a Christmas Village himself?

“I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be cool if all the buildings in our Christmas Village were these great downtown Franklin buildings with so much history and connection to where we live?'” he said.

Zollinger’s miniature Styrofoam recreations include Franklin Theatre and Gray’s on Main.

Zollinger started doing these Christmas 2020. Every Christmas since then, he’s done another recreation of a downtown Franklin building. There are now five miniatures.

I asked Zollinger how he got started doing this kind of art. I did not expect his answer.

“Growing up I played Dungeons & Dragons!” he said.

A few years ago, Zollinger decided he’d paint the figures that came with the game and then add a few things of his own like tiny trees and rocks.

“It is unusual, but you can kinda see how it connects!” he laughed. “It’s still miniatures and painting and art and craft.”

He just kept getting better at this. When the Christmas Village started, Zollinger was zeroing in on the details around the city.

“It’s probably about 50 hours I spend on each one of them, a little more, a little less,” Zollinger said.

He captures the texture of bricks. He even added some movies to the Now Showing banner of his Franklin Theatre miniature. These are the things that make it all come alive.

“That’s the main reason it takes so long!” Zollinger laughed.

As he decides what downtown building to take on next year, Zollinger continues a tribute to a city using skills learned through playing Dungeons & Dragons. It’s all now a Christmas-time tradition and gift for his wife. It’s all about the details.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Daisy Kershaw

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    CINCINNATI (WLWT) — This Christmas marks a special milestone for one local woman, as she turned 100.

Helen Barhorst is celebrating 100 years of life, 100 birthdays and 100 Christmases, well-lived and well-loved.

She said it’s that love that keeps her going.

“It’s unbelievable that I’m still here. I never in my life thought I would live to be a hundred,” said Helen.

On her centennial, generations of her family gathered to celebrate her.

“It’s tremendously special,” said daughter Nancy Cooper. “I’ve never known anyone to live to 100, and to be related to someone.”

Helen is creating memories and magic for those she loves.

“I look back at all the memories she’s created not only for me but really for her family,” said Diana Barhorst.

Ten decades of memories, 10 decades of history — history the Barhorsts were part of.

Helen’s late husband, Walter Barhorst, served during WWII.

“My husband was in the Air Force, and he flew 45 missions, and thankfully, he was not hurt,” she said.

She has loved and lost.

“Buried two sons, which broke my heart,” said Helen.

This now great-grandmother knows how precious time is, and she knows time with the people we love, however much we get, is the ultimate gift.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Cecil Hannibal

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    SACRAMENTO COUNTY, California (KCRA) — This Christmas, the Sacramento region experienced stormy weather, but residents still found ways to enjoy the holiday with family and friends.

“This time of year we get big trees and lots of leaves,” said East Sacramento resident David Macko as he and his neighbor Greg Dyer took on clean-up duties.

Dyer, who was cooking for a large family gathering, said, “Yeah, it kind of interrupted the cooking schedule. I’m cooking for 16, a lot of people, four daughters, and a lot of in-laws and grandkids.”

While some were busy unclogging gutters, travelers in the Sierra encountered more snow than expected.

Stew Munnerlyn, traveling to Truckee for Christmas, said, “We’re trying to get up to Truckee but having a little trouble here,” as his family was stuck in a traffic jam on Interstate 80.

Despite the challenges, Munnerlyn found joy in the journey, sharing, “We got the kitty through Tasha, it’s her first road trip, her first time seeing snow, really.”

In Folsom, families enjoyed a break in the clouds. Josh Simister, a Folsom dad, expressed, “Christmas is spending time with family and this little gift right here,” as he held his 3-year-old daughter. “We all wore matching pajamas, which only I am still wearing.”

Four-year-old Catherine Adams from Folsom was excited about her gifts on Christmas Day.

“It’s Santa, but it’s pajamas,” she said, as she showed off her new matching pajamas and shared her delight in receiving a building set and a robot set.

Despite the stormy weather, the holiday spirit remained strong, reminding everyone that Christmas is about cherishing time with loved ones.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.