The holiday spirit, however, just might pass over Willow Grove.

"I was born and raised in Willow Grove, and I remember growing up seeing downtown Willow Grove festive," Jan Stachel said at Upper Moreland Township's board meeting Monday night.

Stachel was at the meeting seeking board support for a return of holiday decorations to the township. The township already posts a limited number of snowflake lights on light posts in downtown Willow Grove.

"I go all over Pennsylvania and New Jersey and see other communities that are decorated and I go through Willow Grove and it's not," he said. "I drive with my family through here and my children ask me why it isn't decorated, and I don't have an answer for them."

The answer may be too complicated for youngsters to understand.

"When it comes to government action we have to be cautious. When it centers around religion, we have to be very, very cautious," board President Michael Crilly said. "There are a lot of townships that no longer have any holiday ornaments because of all the controversy it creates for the administration as well as the boards of representatives in townships."

Board member James Martin suggested that the township display a holiday tree to honor men and women serving in the armed forces in a meeting last month.

Some board members suggested Martin develop a recommendation to move on concerning funding for the tree and where it could be located. This is the second time Martin has tried to organize a community tree. An attempt last year fell through.

"It's the fourth holiday season where we have men and women serving overseas. It's a big sacrifice for the families with them being away for the holidays," Martin said. "My idea was just to have a one-time honoring of those families where we have a tree-lighting ceremony."

Both the township manager and solicitor said that putting up lights during the holiday season would throw the township into a "quagmire," according to board Vice President Richard Booth.

"We were given advice that if we go down this road, that we're going to end up with a lot of controversy, a lot of turmoil and a lot of bad feelings, and I'm not sure why we're considering revisiting this again," Booth said.

"The tree is not the issue, it's the symbolism that goes with it and what you end up putting on it and under it," Solicitor Robert Kerns said, alluding to the separation of church and state.

Commissioner Stacey Efkowitz said if a member of the community wanted to put up a display at his or her own expense, and went before the board to ask for public grounds to display a tree, the board would make a decision based on what that presentation was.

"We're in the business of governing, not decorating," Efkowitz said.

Crilly recommended the tree project be privately funded and placed on private property and offered the VFW Post on Moreland Road as a possible location instead of using public land in downtown Willow Grove. War Memorial Park had been mentioned as a possible site for a holiday tree in previous committee meetings.

"The War Memorial Association has a good deal to say as what to goes on at the park, so you can see there are solutions to address what Jim [Martin] is attempting to accomplish that may not necessarily need governmental action," Crilly said.

But a tree tucked away in a seldom used park won't fully satisfy Stachel. He's currently working on a petition and has offered to help seek out funding for holiday decorations for Willow Grove.

"It's a start. It saddens me that it has to be hidden," Stachel said. "Are we the only ones who try to be politically correct? Are these other townships wrong for letting festivities in their communities?"

This article was taken from The Willow Grove Guide.