Treasure Cave Decorated For Season

— Twinkling lights, snowmen, reindeer and a Christmas tree will light up the normally dark Old Spanish Treasure Cave for a special holiday celebration.

Paul Linscott of Sulphur Springs decided to decorate the cave to bolster the community’s Christmas spirit.

Linscott said he also hopes that the festive atmosphere will bring more visitors to the cave in the off-season.

Decorating the cave for the holidays “is something that is unusual. There is no other cave around here that does something like this so it will get the local community out a little more,” Linscott said.

Linscott’s decorating is paying off. Phyllis Thurman of Colcord, Okla., visited the cave for the first time Friday.

“It is funny how you live in an area and you see the things right in your backyard but you go to all these other places to look at the same kind of things,” Thurman said.

Part of what drew Thurman to the cave is the Christmas lights.

Ruby and Dean Shafer of Gentry had not toured the cave in more than 30 years when their children were small. The couple took the tour Dec. 19, pointing out stalagmites and mineral formations that glowed against the red, orange, blue and white lights.

“I bet (Linscott) buys lights all year long to be able to set all of this up,” Ruby Shafer said as she walked past the Christmas lights.

Dean Shafer admitted he liked seeing all of the lights, even though he had other motives for touring the cave.

“I am really looking for that Spanish treasure tucked in a corner in here somewhere,” Dean Shafer laughed. Folklore surrounding the cave says Spanish conquistadors hid their loot inside the cave more than a century ago.

“I like Christmas. This is just something different to do,” Ruby Shafer said. “We may have to come back and bring our grandchildren to see it.”

Linscott is planning to add more seasonal decorations to the cave each year, he said.

“It is the time of year when I think people are a little more family-oriented and this is something that could start a tradition,” Linscott said.

Old Spanish Treasure Cave is open from 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Linscott plans to have it decorated until Jan. 3.

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