Success for the Santa Run Parade

There’s excitement in the air! We can feel it as the children talk about the coming holiday, and we prepare for a joyous celebration! To me, it feels awfully good! I hope the same is true with you. I know it’s busy, but what a joy it is to see happy people, and family coming to town, or you going to them! All five of my children will be here and all the grandchildren as well. My home is the meeting place! 

This weekend was the beginning of celebrations in this house, but parties are happening at many places, including church. Sit back and enjoy. It’s all over in a flash, so cherish the times. This weekend, the East Naples Civic Association, with our president Jacob Winge, the East Naples Kiwanis Club with president Darrin Sanger, the Sheriff’s Department, the East Naples (it’s now called the Greater Naples) Fire Department, Parkside Elementary School, the Lely High School Key Club (the high school version of Kiwanis Clubs), the Ladies of Naples Lakes, and Ted Beisler, our master of ceremonies (who is there every year!) all gathered together in the parking lot of Parkside Elementary School, along with others who support this event every year such as Maureen Drum and Barb Anderson of Naples Lakes. The Ladies of Naples Lakes have packaged many, many bags of candy to pass out to the Children of Naples Manor every year, and the Sheriff’s office passed out flyers to all the homes in The Manor in advance, to let the families know this annual event was about to take place! This is our 27th year and the children love it as much as they always have. This year the candy was more expensive, so we couldn’t add any extras, but the kids loved every minute of it anyway! Our Santa Claus was masterful, to say the least, and the children squealed with delight as he passed by. The parade went down most of the streets in the Manor, and the kids would ride their bikes over to the area and follow the caravan. Mr. Santa was his jovial self, and his “wife,” Mrs. Claus, was along for the ride and waving. (On a personal note, I was Mrs. Claus, and being that we had to ride up high in a sleigh, they used a flatbed trailer to hold the sleigh, and I’m deathly afraid of heights. That’s where the Sheriff’s officers came to the rescue, seven of them, to get me up the ladder, onto the flatbed, up on the sleigh, then over the sides and into the sleigh itself. Luckily all these guys were strong and muscular and made it look easy! But remember, I also had to come back down after the parade, but they were there to get me out and off all those parts of the sleigh and flatbed and ladder. A personal thanks to all those strong deputies for taking care of the situation!) The kids in the neighborhood, as well as the parents, were so happy and enjoyed the parade so much, and got to meet the firemen and deputies and Lely High School kids. It really lifted all of our hearts to see those happy kids!

*While we were going through the Manor, we couldn’t help but notice how much improved the area looks now! Many of these residents work in the building industry and have been using their knowledge and talents to improve their own houses, adding much needed landscaping and paint, new windows and driveways, and so much more. I’d say over 50 % look so much better than a few years ago!! And others have come to that area because of the lower prices than others and have built really nice houses with garages and beautiful fences and landscaping. You’ve got to hand it to these folks! They took a sow’s ear and made it into a silk purse! I was so impressed! Many people haven’t seen that area for a while or even ever! If you saw it a number of years ago, you would be amazed now! I’m in this parade every year, so I can definitely see the difference! Maybe the ENCA should offer a prize a month to the best improved house. We could even create a sign to plant on their front lawn for a week each month noting it was the house of the month!

*I attended a lovely dinner with my friend Peggy Reagan, a member of the Big Cypress Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), and another good friend Brigette Smith, also a member of the DAR and the same chapter, and very active as well, which was held with the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR). We went to a lovely Country Club in another part of the county that served delicious food. Our speaker was Roger Smith and his topic was “Florida, the 14th Colony”. You could tell he studies American History constantly! The man seems to eat and drink American History! The whole audience was enthralled! The DAR’s Regent is Donna Shands and the SAR President is Leonard W. Crame. The DAR National Defense Chair is Carol Berning. I love the patriotism of these organizations! And they’re all proud to be an American! I’m not eligible to join, but I’m allowed to attend their meetings, so I do. To be eligible, you must be able to prove lineal, bloodline descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving American Independence. The person must provide documentation for each statement of birth, marriage and death, as well as of the Revolutionary War service of her Patriot ancestor. The DAR is one of the world’s largest and most active women’s service organizations with nearly 195,000 current members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide! The organization was founded in 1890 with the simple mission of promoting historic preservation, education and patriotism. These tireless, overarching principles keep the DAR strong and vitally relevant in this ever-changing world. The founders were: Mrs. Lockwood, Miss Desha, Miss Eugenia Washington (great grandniece of George Washington), and Mrs. Ellen Hardin Walworth. 

Just to add: I’m so lucky to be able to be a part of these events, and so I pass them on to you, in case you want to be a part of one of these community activities.