Cup O’ Joe: Lighting up the night

Saturday marked the official start to the yuletide season as the big man in red, also known as Santa Claus, made his first official appearance in the Shiretown for the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce’s annual Holiday Light Parade.
    Rain threatened to put a damper on things earlier in the day, but by dusk the rains subsided with a slight trace of snowflakes in the air. The parade began in the Houlton Shopping Plaza on the North Road and continued down North Road to Market Square where Santa lit the town tree.
Afterwards, Santa and Mrs. Claus made a stop at the Chamber, where an area was set up for local children to meet with them, share what their Christmas desires were, and to have some refreshments. For some youths, sitting on Santa’s lap can be a scary thing and there were a couple who waited patiently in line, only to decide not to go when it was their turn.
Years ago, both of my daughters were the same way at various stages of their lives. Every parent thinks, “Oh what a great photo it will be” to have their infant or toddler sit on the lap of a complete stranger dressed in funny clothes for a holiday picture. But sometimes, it just doesn’t work out that way, so I empathized with those parents who’s kids opted not to approach Santa. Fortunately, there was a clever Mrs. Claus sitting right beside him, offering candy canes.
This year’s parade featured a number of intricately decorated vehicles. And fan favorite Cameron Clark was there once again with his three-wheeled unicycle, lights and elf costume. How that boy manages to pedal all that distance perched atop a unicycle is remarkable.
The holiday spirit is alive and well in the office of the Houlton Pioneer Times. During a slow period last week, our tree was put up and windows decorated. Santa’s Mailbox has been a popular attraction in our office of late as children bring their wish lists in to have them printed in the newspaper before being shipped off to the North Pole.
I can still remember listening to WHOU as a child for when Santa read letters on the air and the excitement it brought each afternoon as we all tuned in to see if our letters would be read. There was that one year I was distraught, though, when one of my wishes was misread on the air. I wanted Santa to bring me a Chewbacca action figure from the movie “Star Wars,” but since I was only 6 or 7, I couldn’t quite spell it. Instead, I wrote I wanted a Chewy, which Santa interpreted as a Chevy. Imagine the grief of a youngster thinking Santa was going to bring the wrong gift. Fortunately, the real Santa got it right, but there was some tense nights spent worrying for sure.
Joseph Cyr is a staff writer for the Houlton Pioneer Times. He can be reached at pioneertimes@ nepublish.com or 532-2281.