Betty Booth and her "beloved" Smokey

How It Came to Be

On Thursday December 18th the Paul Revere bells of the Norwich Congregational Church will chime 48 times to signal the beginning of the 48th annual Norwich Christmas Pageant. This pageant was the idea of Betty Booth who lived on Elm St. and taught riding during the 1950s and '60s. She owned several horses and a small white donkey named Smokey.

Betty's first pageant was a family affair. She was living in Massachusetts and had four children as well as several animals. Betty dressed in blue and played Mary while her husband, Andy, was Joseph, her youngest baby was Jesus and the other three were angels and Wise Men. The neighbors loved it!

When the family moved to Norwich, a tableau inside the church was being considered, but Betty had a better idea of how to include the entire town in the pageant. Why not have it outside using the Parker's barn (now the Bozuwa's barn) for the stable, the Norwich Inn which would have "no room," and the Grange balcony for the Angels to announce baby Jesus' birth to the shepherds? Betty suggested they use her donkey, Smokey, to carry Mary up Main St. and have oxen and sheep in the Parker's barn. High school juniors and seniors could make up the cast, a choir could lead the singing and readers could narrate the story. Nick Jacobson of Bragg Hill could adapt the story from the gospels of Matthew and St. Luke. As the Wise Men offered gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newborn Jesus, Betty suggested that Norwich townspeople bring gifts-which would be donated to The Upper Valley Haven-to the barn as well. Lo and behold, the Christmas Pageant was born.

There were many details to be worked out for this pageant of Betty's: settings, actors, costumes, lighting, loud speakers, animals and costumes. Betty and her helpers made the original costumes out of Betty's old ball gowns and other fabrics that she had bought on a trip to the Holy Land in the 1930s. The angels' costumes were made of white sheets complete with wings and sparkling halos. These costumes are still being used today and are as elegant and authentic as they were in 1961.

The numbers of pageant participants vary from year to year. One year there were twenty-four angels! All local high school students are invited to participate, regardless of religious affiliation. There have been Jewish Marys and Wise Men and Buddhist, Cambodian shepherds. Through out early December people can often see the two rehearsals throughout the town. Mary practices walking up and down Main Street to make sure her donkey will not need to be persuaded with Oreo cookies, like Smokey did.

Since the original pageant, changes have taken place. Songbooks are now handed out so all can sing. Instead of using a doll, a real baby is found to represent Jesus. After the pageant, the Norwich Inn welcomes all for hot chocolate and singing in its basement, and the cast are invited into the Bozuwa house for hot cider and doughnuts. In the past, expenses-which usually run several hundred dollars-for things such as speaker rentals and animal transportation were paid for by donations. Now the sale of Christmas cards by town artists at Dan & Whit's is the main source of support.

Around 400 people are involved in each pageant. Over the years approximately 18,000 people have enjoyed watching. Betty, who was responsible for the pageant well into her eighties, would be very pleased to know the success of her creation. Since she passed away in 2000, her daughter, Day Guest, and Liz Flannery have taken over her role.

Make sure to come see this year's pageant at 7 P.M. on December 18th. Everyone is to gather at Tracy Hall.