Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and he’s been coming to Lucedale since the town’s early days of existence!
This coming weekend is the much-anticipated annual Christmas Parade in which Santa will arrive atop the city firetruck following a few scores of trailer floats and decorated automobiles. Lucedale’s first such parade was in 1955 with 14 floats ending with Santa on a large red and white float. Jolly Ole Santa was surrounded by bicycles, wagons, and tricycles. He tossed candy donated by the Bank of Lucedale (now Century Bank) to little children along the street sidewalks.
1955 was the first concerted effort to have a parade with floats. In 1950, officials escorted Santa into town in early December in a small fanfare led by the local county sheriff and the Lucedale High School marching band. Santa rode in the town firetruck behind the sheriff and the band. The entourage traveled down Main Street and ended at the corner of Mill Street and Main Street where Santa would “alight from the truck, be welcomed by the mayor, and greet and talk to the little folks,” according to a December 7, 1950 issue of the George County Times. Archived issues of the newspaper indicate this continued to serve as Santa’s entrance for a few years.
In 1955, the George County Times began printing articles in mid-November about a large parade that was being planned with a theme and 14 floats. It stated the Lucedale Woman’s Club and the Rotary Club were joint sponsors with cooperation from other clubs in the area. The theme was “The Spirit of Christmas with Mother Goose.” The floats included: “Little Boy Blue” by Oak Grove Home Demonstration Club; “The Queen of Hearts” by the Fine Arts Club; “Old King Cole” by Refuge Home Demonstration Club; “Little Bo Peep” by Business Girls Club; “Sing a Song of Sixpence” by the Optimist Club; “The Old Woman in the Shoe” by Basin Home Demonstration Club; “As I Was Going to St. Ives” by Hospital Auxiliary; “Three Wise Men of Gotham” by American Legion Auxiliary; “Polly Put the Kettle On” by Broom Home Demonstration Club; “Mary, Mary Quite Contrary” by Ward Home Demonstration Club; “Simple Simon” by the American Legion; “Mary Had a Little Lamb” by the Woman’s Club, “Georgie Porgie” by the Junior Woman’s Club; and “Santa Claus” by the Rotary Club.
According to the George County Times issue published December 8, 1955, following the parade, rain greatly interfered with that year’s plans causing the Saturday parade to be delayed until Monday afternoon. Still, “a large crowd” showed up for the big event. Lucedale native Lana Turner (now Pope) was in that 1955 parade riding as a first grader on the Georgie Porgie float. Recently, she graciously shared with me her memories of the annual Christmas parade as she knew I was researching this topic. As Turner progressed through elementary school and the upper grades, she continued to participate in the parade, and in 1966, during her senior year of high school, she was named Queen of the Parade by the Jaycees (Junior Chamber of Commerce).
After the 1955 parade, the town organized a small committee to facilitate the parade. This committee was led by chairmen including J.M. Dorsett and Dick Hunter. By the late 1950s, the Jaycees had formed in Lucedale; that organization began sponsoring the parade in 1960. It was the Jaycees who named Turner as the queen as she had been selected “Most Beautiful” at Lucedale High School that year. Turner might have been the first and only queen to have served the parade as subsequent issues in the 1960s of the George County Times do not mention a queen.
The Jaycees sponsored the parade through 1988 when it disbanded. The Lucedale Rotary Club became parade sponsor in 1989, according to the December 14, 1989 issue of the newspaper. The following year, 1990, Rotarians selected a Grand Marshal and have done so every year since. The first Grand Marshal was Scott Hunter, who grew up in Lucedale and was a famed quarterback for the University of Alabama as well as National Football League teams like the Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons, and Detroit Lions.
Lucedale Rotary Club continues to sponsor the parade and continues to select a Grand Marshal each year to lead the parade. Nowadays, floats and marching groups make up about 70-plus entries. Lucedale’s parade is recognized as one of the best in South Mississippi. It is set annually at 6 p.m. on the first Saturday of December.
Grand Marshals for this year’s event are members of the George County High School girls’ softball team who won the state championship. Grand Marshals for the previous 10 years, in order, are: Louis Valentine, Family of Wayne Brown, Mark Maples, Davis Lollis, Doug Lee, Jim Corley, John Sims, Faye McNeil, A.C. Hillman, and Buddy Bobinger. Prior Grand Marshals, in no particular order, have been: Andy Powell, Doris & Robert Alexander, Bobby Cook, Dr. Dayton Whites, Bessie May Harvey, Darwin and Minnie Ellen Maples, Sgt 1st Class Todd Henderson, Faye McNeil, Gene Taylor, Bill Freeman, Family of Sean Cooley, Lucedale National Guard, and World War II Veterans. Bill Martin and Dr. Victor Landry were also named Grand Marshals years ago; however, both passed prior to the parade and their families led the parades those years.
While the number of floats has significantly increased since the parade’s beginning, the highlight of the night continues to be the arrival of Santa Claus.
