Did you know?
It’s beginning to look a lot like, well, Thanksgiving, everywhere we go.
That means the start of the Christmas season, with its long lines at checkout counters, and heavy Internet traffic – filled with shoppers eagerly hoping to make those great deals.
But long before there was anything called “Black Friday,” or “Cyber Monday,” the kick-offs to Christmas seasons meant one thing聽— Santa Claus was coming to town.
On Thursday, Nov. 18, 1948, for instance, a local newspaper devoted a full page to Santa’s arrival on Saturday morning.
The jolly round fellow decided to ditch his sleigh and his reindeer for his appearance that day.
Instead, he used an alternative means of transit. “He will land at Connellsville Airport, and come to town on a fire truck,” said the text beside a large, smiling comic representation of Mr. Claus.
(For the record, I would have been there, but I was only one month old at the time)
Sometimes Santa’s arrival would be treated with much pomp and circumstance.
“Carnival spirit grips thousands of gleeful tots,” read one headline on the front page of the Nov. 29, 1938 edition of the Uniontown Morning Herald.
“Holiday season for Uniontown and the people of the tri-state area was auspiciously opened yesterday with a spectacular Santa Claus parade before one of the largest crowds in the history of the city,” read the lead paragraph.
That story was accompanied by two pictures that showed Uniontown’s streets lined with excited well-wishers, who greeted large, inflated storybook characters, that had been carried along by “Approximately 200 senior and junior high students,”
It was also reported that there had been “balloon figures (comprised of) individual letters spelling out the word ‘Toyland’ over a block-long distance.”
That year, and for that event, St. Nick arrived in a “special train.”
The term “Black Friday,” was first used to describe the day after Thanksgiving in Philadelphia in the early 1960s.
But before that was a “Black Friday,” there was something called “Black Tuesday,” which had nothing to do with any holidays.
The stock market crash on Oct. 29, 1929, which led to the Great Depression, of course, became known as “Black Tuesday,” because so much personal wealth was lost that day.
In subsequent years, with money being in shorter supply, some Santa Claus arrivals, and citywide post-Thanksgiving festivities were apparently trimmed-down considerably.
On Nov. 23, 1937, a local newspaper carried news about the brand new Soisson Theatre that was about to open the following day. But it also carried an item of interest for youngsters. “Dancing Dolls Help Santa Open Troutman’s Toyland,” it read.
There was no big parade, or spectacular Santa Claus arrival that had taken place. “Jolly old Santa Claus, assisted by 12 Christmas Elfs, held forth at Troutman’s Toyland Saturday afternoon, to the huge delight of over 1,200 local youngsters and several hundred parents,” it was reported.
A week later, on Nov. 30, 1937, a local newspaper carried a story that revealed how limited money was in those days.
“No Parade Planned; Money Will Be Used For Better Purpose,” said the headline.
“Christmas parades are extremely expensive to secure and by using the funds that might be put into a parade for other purposes right at home, a great deal more benefit will be derived, is the consensus of opinion. In another year a parade may be arranged, but this season there will be plenty of other features to make Christmas a happy event,” said the report.
Of course, there would be better times.
On Nov. 22, 1946, a local newspaper’s front page carried the headline: “City jam-packed by thousands for Christmas parade.”
“Inflation hit Connellsville for sure Thursday afternoon, but not in prices! Santa Claus came to town with a colossal retinue of balloon animals such as ‘Porky Pig,’ ‘Ella, the Elephant,’ horrible prehistoric ‘monsters,’ and fairybook characters,” said the report.
There had been an estimated 35,000 people who “jammed every street along the parade route.”
There had been 500 students who represented school bands from all over Fayette County who took part in the parade.
“New York, with its ticker tape reception for celebrants, had nothing on Connellsville Thursday afternoon. Paper of all kinds, mostly newsprint, was tossed from office buildings until city streets were a half-inch deep,” the report said.
By 1965, they were still tossing things during the arrival of the “jolly old gent.”
The Nov. 24, 1965 edition of the Uniontown Evening Standard carried a story of that year’s upcoming Christmas parade.
It was reported that Santa and his helpers “will toss popcorn balls to those along the parade route.”
And when Santa was expected to reach his “throne” on Beeson Boulevard, between Main and South Streets, he and his helpers were going to distribute even more popcorn balls, and, of course, candy canes.