DeLand's Christmas toy soldiers missing in action

Cost of repairing vandalism damage too high

By Jen Horton
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Dec 14, 2008 - 12:25:51pm

The beloved Downtown sentries who stood at attention during the Christmas season on Woodland Boulevard are missing in action this year.

Assistant City Manager Dale Arrington said it was a difficult choice to make, but the giant toy soldiers were extensively vandalized each year, and repairing a soldier costs thousands of dollars. Replacing one costs even more.

The soldiers had been vandalism victims year after year.

"One had a chain thrown around him," Arrington said.

The fiberglass soldier was dragged through the streets by the chain, and hit by a car.

"We used to have four toy soldiers," Arrington said. "Only one is salvageable."

Arrington said everyone, especially former City Manager Mike Abels, loved the toy soldiers.

"I think it's really, really sad," she said. "Nobody wanted to do it."

But, at the end of the day, money talked, and the soldiers had to walk.

"In 2005-06, I overspent my budget repairing the toy soldiers," Arrington said. "We decided at that time when they were no longer able to be repaired, we would no longer use them."

Arrington said using up all the money on soldiers had other consequences.

"The problem with spending all of the money on the toy soldiers is that none of the other decorations get replaced," she said.

Some of the city's Christmas wreaths and small toy soldiers are old, and in disrepair.

Before yearly attacks on the soldiers, the city would buy some decorations each year, and replace things gradually, which kept all of the decorations looking fresh. That hasn't been done in a while.

Arrington hopes to have new decorations purchased by January to replace the current ones.

Decoration money has also been used for new lighting in Downtown DeLand. Strands of white bulbs that twinkled to outline the tops of buildings are being replaced by white rope lighting.

Ideally, the soldiers will come back.

"They will certainly not be up this Christmas season," Arrington said.

But, if the repair work was donated, Arrington said, city officials would be more than happy to bring back the Christmas guard.

"Maybe a boat shop, or as a high-school project," she said.

Clarence "Bo" Davenport, DeLand's retired Public Works director, started the toy-soldier tradition.

"I have to say I was kind of highly ticked off when I didn't see them," Davenport said.

He couldn't remember how long the soldiers had been around, but knew it was a long time, and he knew the soldiers won a lot of hearts in their tour of holiday duty.

"We always had a lot of compliments," Davenport said. "People would look for them."

He said he wants to see the soldiers back in action.

"But, that's my personal thought," Davenport said. "We've got them, so why not use them?"

— jen@beacononlinenews.com

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