Holiday tradition adorns a busier Charlottesville Amtrak station

Hawes Spencer Nov 28, 2022



Catherine Bolton and Esther Hannon arrange aromatic cedar at the Charlottesville Union Station recently. It’s part of an annual tradition of decorating the station that started about 20 years ago.
HAWES SPENCER, THE DAILY PROGRESS.

Nancy Roberts was headed to Pearson, Georgia, to live with her daughter and “grandbabies,” when a train accident in Indiana caused an abrupt reroute of her journey.

Roberts’ unplanned layover in Charlottesville’s Amtrak train station did, however, offer a silver lining — or at least a green lining. On Monday morning, she got to watch three area garden clubs decorate the station for the winter holidays.

“It’s very lovely,” said Roberts, as at least half a dozen women worked together to install an artificial tree and place real evergreens into practically every open spot of what’s officially called Charlottesville Union Station.

“This is the happiest group of ladies I’ve ever seen,” continued Roberts, as the group put up wreaths and tied pieces of pine, fir and magnolia with jute-covered wire at the brick building on West Main Street.

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