Remembering Pat, the Santa Sprint, and Christmas past
By Kathryn Ross
Christmas can be a very lonely holiday for a lot of people. And this Christmas, for me, holds a little extra sadness.
In 2019 my older sister Pat, pictured above, passed away at two days before Christmas. I try not to dwell on the date but it comes back to haunt me each year. And I’m sure similar days haunt other people at this time of the season. Pat loved Christmas. Her favorite thing was to watch Hallmark movies on TV, and she baked some cookies, but not a lot and decorated the house. She was also very fond of all her grandchildren coming to visit her at Christmas time. It made her very happy to see them.
Pat and I started the first Wellsville Christmas parade of modern days. We did it as a function of Music On the Lawn. It was a very well respected parade. I looked around until I found a Santa Claus who had an actual beard because I realized that part of the reason my Santa Claus pictures never turned out the way I wanted, was because you could never see Santa smiling underneath a big fuzzy white beard. So, I found a local man with a naturally white beard. We built a sleigh for him to ride in.
That first Christmas parade was fun. The mayor at the time, Judy Lynch got all dressed up and led the parade down Main Street, along with other local personalities. It was a great success. Of course, Santa brought up the rear.
Pat played Mrs. Santa Claus and decked herself out and a red and white costume, cute little hat and drove the SUV pulling Santa’s trailer. The SUV was decorated with a Rudolph red nose and antlers, and played Christmas music throughout the route. It was a fun experience. And I’m glad we did it and I’m glad that it’s continuing to be a part of the Christmas celebration today.
We also started the Santa Sprint which has gone by the wayside. The Santa Sprint involved both male and female runners dressed up as Santa Claus sprinting the distance between State Street and Pearl Street. The fastest and the best dressed got prizes from local businesses.
We had some crazy looking Santas crossing a candy cane finish line.
Along with always missing my older sister at this time of year, this year is special. Somehow, I contracted Shingles. The left side of my face is all blotchy and weepy and yucky and terrible. So I informed my family that I won’t be around for Christmas Day. I’m going to bed.
I wanted to say a whole lot more in this column. About the people who don’t have anyone in their homes at this time of year. The people who are alone. The people who are sad.
I don’t mind being alone. Especially at this time of year, because for the most part, all the people I’ve cherished are no longer with us. Oh I have great nieces and nephews that I cherish but they don’t come home for Christmas.
I don’t blame them for that, I’ve gotten used to being alone.
But not everybody does. Not everybody is like me. Some people grieve and dwell on being alone. I find that kind of useless.
But I do think it’s nice that there are churches and programs around that recognize that people are alone at Christmas time and need some company. I appreciate that. I think it’s nice.
I also think it’s really nice that the Trinity Lutheran Church participates in handing out. Christmas meals to those in need. That makes it really special when you think that somebody you don’t even know is thinking about your Christmas meal. A couple of years I participated in the event by delivering meals to people. It was kind of fun and I enjoyed it. It kind of made my Christmas and I would encourage anyone who has children to introduce them to this program because it will really teach them the true meaning of Christmas.
Due to the way I feel, exhaustion, soreness and pain, I’m cutting this column short.
I just want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.
Kathryn Ross is a lifelong Wellsville writer, columnist, photographer, and community activist. Send her an email with a get well wish anytime, kathr_2002@yahoo.com.
