Mill Street Sparkles For Holiday Season

Mill Street is a bit brighter this holiday season.

A large crowd gathered along Mill Street Thursday evening to take in the 10,000 new Christmas lights that decorate Bristol Borough’s central business district. The crisp white lights are wrapped around the street’s lamp posts that are topped with lighted wreaths.

“We’re here to celebrate what we will call the ‘Miracle on Mill’ … do you like them?” Bristol Borough: Raising the Bar Chairman Bill Pezza asked the crowd, which responded with cheers.

“It’s amazing when Bill says ‘Miracle on Mill Street.’ It’s really a miracle where we have come in the last 18 years. Everyone in the crowd really deserves a round of applause,” Council President Ralph DiGuiseppe said.

The 10,000 lights were put up by business owner and newly-elected Councilman Michael Gorman and the borough’s public works crew.

“This is only on the beginning,” Gorman said.

The idea for the lights came together months ago and business owners had to come up with a way to cover the $5,000 tab for the display. As the search for sponsors began, William Penn Bank, which just relocated its headquarters to the borough, stepped up quickly and wrote a $5,000 check.

“There’s no more welcoming place on the plant for new businesses than Bristol Borough” bank CEO Ken Stephon.

The lighting event took place a little more than a week before the borough’s annual Christmas tree lighting.

“This is a continuation of the various programs we have been putting on all summer and into the winter time,” Mayor Joe Saxton said.

Pezza encouraged the crowd to buy at least one Christmas gift from a Mill Street business. Bristol Borough Business Association President Steve Mooney concurred and encouraged those in attendance to stop local.