Market Street students celebrate Old West Christmas

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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Some of the stars of "Christmas at the OK Corral" shared their smiles after a successful Dec. 21 performance. The actors and actresses are, from left, Zachary Pflug (front), Carter Cailon, Carter Mraz, Lucas Dray (back), Jack Cordon, Breanna Hall, Anthony Butto, and Griffin Widrig.

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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Bubble Gum Bart, played by Market Street principal Jim Stitt (left), threatened to cover the town of Snowy Gulch in "Bubble Gum Goo" because he hated the townspeople's loud singing and Christmas cheer.

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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .The Candy Cane Kid, or Zachary Pflug (left) arrived in Snowy Gulch on Ralph the Reindeer (Carter Mraz, right) and urged the townspeople and Bubble Gum Bart to communicate and resolve their differences.

By SARAH FOOR sfoor@vindy.com

The second-graders at Market Street Elementary experienced the “Old West” during their Dec. 21 holiday choir performance.

The production of “Christmas at the OK Corral” championed the power of understanding and communication between the residents of Snowy Gulch and their grumpy enemy Bubble Gum Bart.

Bart, played by Market Street principal Jim Stitt, couldn’t stand all the singing and happiness in town and threatened to cover the corral in bubble gum goo.

The townspeople asked Santa Claus for help and St. Nick sends the Candy Cane Kid to conquer the Christmas problem.

The Kid is the first person in Snowy Gulch to ask why Bart doesn’t like Christmas. “I do like Christmas. But no one at the corral likes me and I feel left out,” Stitt, as Bubble Gum Bart, finally explains.

The townspeople attest that they don’t hate Bart and both parties realize that they should have communicated their feelings sooner. The town joyously celebrated the holiday together.

Music teacher Dean Wilson said the play was a perfect fit for the second-graders because of its appealing music and great lesson.

“Through our many practices, the kids really learned musical literacy and how to read music beyond the second-grade level, which I am very happy to see,” Wilson said.

Wilson also appreciated the great amount of support the kids received from their teachers, parents, and especially their principal.

“We had a lot of help that was really wonderful. I think it’s definitely out of the ordinary to have a principal who would step up to be the bad guy for us,” Wilson added, with a laugh.