What’s better than a visit with Santa Claus? Without a doubt, it’s a visit with Santa Claus with pizza.
The Marion Police Brotherhood hosted its annual “Pizza With Santa” this year at the new Benjamin D. Cushing Community/Senior Center.
‘Lieutenant’ Santa, as he does every year, arrived at the event to a high-spirited crowd of kiddies. Only this year, Santa rolled onto the scene in style in the passenger seat of North Pole Officer Matthew McGraw’s 1924 Ford Model T automobile, alfresco in the frigid air – which doesn’t faze Santa, being from the North Pole and all.
The highlight of the day is always the magical moment of sitting on Santa’s lap and being handed a candy cane upon disembarking said lap. But being handed a hot slice of pizza by retiring Police Chief Lincoln Miller is a close second, followed, of course, by sinking one’s teeth into said pizza.
The brotherhood also collected donated toys so that all area children could receive a present this holiday season, and even the pizza was donated so that no child would go without a slice this holiday season – as it should be.
The brotherhood isn’t really sure about how to top Lieutenant Santa’s arrival via olde-tyme automobile next year when Santa returns for Christmas 2018 as ‘Chief Santa’ – but since the matter is still ‘up in the air,’ perhaps Santa could use a helicopter to get to the event on time … what say you, brotherhood?
By Jean Perry
