Glenham is a special place on Christmas Eve.

For over 50 years and as long as I can remember, Glenham was always special on Christmas Eve.
Our families could gather outside and see Santa being escorted around before he made his trip to deliver presents to the rest of the world.
When I was 6 years old my brother Mike became one of those firefighters who had the honor and privilege to ride along with Santa who used to team up with Smokey the Bear. Santa’s voice was conveyed thanks to the audio and technical wizardry of Chief Ralph Paolino. It was magical and I couldn’t wait till I could be a part of this.
Slaters is family within a family. There are Grandparents, Parents, Aunts, Uncles, Brothers, Sisters, Sons, Daughters, Husbands, Wives, Cousins, Best friends and more friends. Many of you join with many of these connections in place and many who are new will have these connections in a short time.
Fast forward 10 years and I joined active membership. Still 40 years ago…Times were different back then… The Elves (Firefighters) were able to ride in jump seats which were right up on top with Santa and some rode on the back step bumper holding onto handrails as they embarked from giving out candy canes and wishing many Merry Christmas. I rode the truck in many of those locations with many of the fellow elves who I will always consider family and remember all of the good times we had.
As the apparatus changed over the years the jump seats and rear step riding faded away. The elves resolved to ride on the back of pickup trucks, so they had the ability to step off and hand out greetings and canes. It was a workout… the district was smaller and we didn’t have covid issues. We used to run right up to front porches if they were outside to greet them. Some of you might remember when I was tripped up on a water valve and fell flat in someone’s front yard over on Willow.
Chief Paolino was always the audio/tech onboard Santa’s truck. He did this right up until the year he passed away. He taught me how and to this day I still honor his method, as it is how I knew it was done when I was a child.
Santa still rides every Christmas Eve through Glenham. It takes a long time nowadays… We still provide enough candy canes for a small army. Every kid from one to ninety-two who comes out to the street to see us should be given candy canes (if they want them) and all the Christmas greetings we can share because this is what makes Slaters the Best and what makes living in Glenham special.
It is the most important public relations event of the year.
I hope the younger members will continue this tradition and understand it's importance as we all move through our cycle of life.
Sincerely,
A.J. Schetter