Go to the Apple Creek bridge at Old Appleton for a family-oriented Christmas Cookie Walk from 4-7 p.m. on Dec. 3, with tables of goodies stretching more than 100 feet across the 1879 bridge. Cookies, brownies, hot cocoa, and more will be offered.
It will be illuminated by special lighting and Christmas music will add to the atmosphere. Blazing fire pits will provide warmth. The non-profit Friends of Apple Creek Bridge is sponsoring the fun-raising fundraiser. Free will donations will be accepted.
The funds will be invested in preserving and maintaining the bridge and in erosion control at its base. The donations will also help fund a set of cultural heritage panel signs to recognize the unique local history.
Joining the celebration will be Ron’s Butcher Shop with meat and cheese platters and Apple Creek Vineyard & Winery with wine available for purchase. Christian Voight will have his German Cook food truck on site. Front Porch Freelance will offer portraits for sale taken in a photo booth.
The new Christmas Shop on Main Street will be open during the event as well as Wednesdays through Saturdays through Christmas Eve. The event will provide a family Christmas celebration with food, drink, lights, music, and more. Parking will be available on the north side of the bridge, rather than in town.
The recently-formed Friends of Apple Creek Bridge non-profit organization is to bring together people who are interested in the history and cultural heritage of Old Appleton, Apple Creek, and the nearby area. Past inhabitants have included a unique blend of five cultures including the Pre-Columbian Native American Mound Builders, Shawnee and Delaware tribes, Scotch-Irish, Germans, and emancipated Black slave families. The land was originally Spanish then French territory. The executive board of the Friends group consists of Mary Jane Buchheit, Susan Reinagel, and Tom Neumeyer. Its focal point, the Apple Creek Bridge at Old Appleton, was erected in 1879 next to the old McClane Mill.
The bridge connected Cape Girardeau and Perry counties on what was the old Kingshighway route. The Pratt strut bridge was washed downstream during a flood in 1982, then resurrected and re-opened in 2006 for pedestrians.
See the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/892464551766988.
