In 1963, preparations for Santa Claus to greet youngsters were of great excitement for the town of Philipsburg.
Santa made his appearance by landing in an airplane at Black Moshannon’s Mid-State Airport. From there, he would ride atop Reliance Fire Company’s “White Elephant” fire truck into downtown Philipsburg.
The parade was to be held at 3 p.m. on the Friday after Thanksgiving, but due to inclement weather, it was rescheduled for the following day.
There were five Christmas themed floats that entered the parade along with marching bands, scout troops, firetrucks and auto dealership cars.
The parade started at the corner of Fourth and Presqueisle streets and moved west on Presqueisle to Front Street, north on Front to Alder Street, and east on Alder to Third Street where the units disbanded at the Marhoefer Baking Company warehouse.
Santa passed out popcorn balls and candy bars to over 2,000 youngsters. After the conclusion of the parade, when the sun was going down, the community’s colored street lights were turned on for the first time to kick off the holiday season.
It was a grand day for the arrival of Santa Claus in Clearfield on Saturday, Nov. 30, 1963 after the first snowfall of that season.
Santa arrived on a float in his sleigh with a few reindeer. The float was made by the Junior Woman’s Club.
Santa waved to his fans along the parade route and then entered the Clearfield County Courthouse at the end of the parade to greet the children and hand out over 4,000 treats.
The parade route began on West Second Avenue, then moved down Market Street to Third Street, down Third to Reed Street, then down Reed to Second Street and on Second to Market.
It disbanded at the Clearfield Area Junior High School. It was reported that the Courthouse was packed with parents and children.
From there, Santa made his way to the Children’s Home and the Pediatric Ward at the Clearfield Hospital to visit and hand out treats to those children. There were 23 entries in the parade from musical organizations, fire trucks, floats, scouts and marching bands.
The first-place prize went to Clearfield Evangelical United Brethren Church’s float titled “This is Christmas”.
Santa Claus made a journey from the North Pole to Coalport on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 1963 visiting with community children at the Coalport Fire Hall following a parade through the streets of the town.
Despite frigid weather and a previous heavy snowfall, the community came out to the parade and party with an estimated crowd of 2,500 people in attendance.
Santa was officially greeted by Mayor J. Wilson Laing Jr. Participants in the Coalport Christmas parade included members of the Richard L. Beers Post 7043, VFW, the BCI Senior Band and Chorus, scout troops and firetrucks.
Santa handed out some 1,500 treats to children at the Coalport Community Christmas Party that was sponsored by the Coalport Christmas Treat Committee.
