Neighbors share holiday spirit in Superior
Nov. 30—SUPERIOR — The third floor of Grand Central Plaza in Superior could be Christmas central.
The hallway of the senior living apartment building is awash in holiday cheer, from a winking Santa and glittering reindeer to candy canes, a creche and silver bells.
The items are put up annually by Gloria Williams, who keeps the hallway decor seasonal. It's a smaller display than she used to put up when she lived in Poplar, Lakeside and California, but neighbors appreciate it.
"She does it not just for this, every holiday. Halloween, spring, the Shamrock one, it's beautiful," said her next-door neighbor, Pat Cronin.
Cronin, who is Jewish, decided to decorate her own doorway with menorahs, banners saying "Shalom" and more. When she ran out of room in the doorway area, her granddaughter strung two "Happy Hanukkah" decorations on a wall under the reindeer. That led to a surprising response from Williams.
"She took a picture of it and sent me a picture (on Facebook) and captioned it 'Love between neighbors,'" Cronin said. "It touched my heart."
Kathy Casper, who can regularly be found piecing together puzzles with Williams in the third-floor common area, said she was happy to see the Jewish decorations both on Cronin's door and the hallway wall.
"It was perfect, just perfect for this time of year," said Casper, who helps out at Cathedral School over the winter.
Having Christian and Jewish decorations side by side, she said "is just the way it should be everywhere."
Especially, Cronin said, with all that's going on in the world today. While she hasn't experienced antisemitism in Superior, she's aware of it in the country.
"I try not to dwell on it. I can't stop it. I can just do things like this," said Cronin, a retired Cooper Elementary School teacher.
Casper and Williams have both
lived at the apartment building for more than eight years
; Casper said she was the second person to move in. Cronin joined them on the third floor three years ago, and the trio have become close.
They share leftovers. They gather to put together puzzles. They knock on one another's door to check in and say "Hi." Casper said she even brings Cronin sandwiches with a towel draped over her arm like a waiter.
"We have our own little community in the community building here, we really do. We are good, fast friends," Cronin said.
There's a stark difference between the red Christmas items and the blue Jewish decorations, she said, "yet they go together."
When asked why she took the picture of the decorations, Williams said she takes pictures all the time.
"What made you put that caption on it? That's what got me right here," Cronin asked.
"Because that's the way I felt," Williams said.
Cronin decided she wanted to share their story.
"I just felt strongly that we needed something to let people come back together instead of apart. It's too much apart," she said.
As the interview wrapped up, Casper and Williams returned to their puzzle with Cronin supervising. Behind them, the Jewish and Christian decorations shimmered together.
