Fire department helps out Santa
Santa and company will be in Prospect Saturday, but this year the visit will be mobile and adapted to meet COVID-19 guidelines.
In years past, Santa Claus has visited Prospect before the holiday by meeting children in the fire hall.
“Instead of coming to the fire hall, Santa is coming to five stops,” said Keri Raisley, owner of Raisley Funeral Home, which is co-sponsoring the event with Fairground Market.
Around 5 p.m. Saturday, Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and a few elves will leave the fire station, deployed on the department's entire fleet, including its engine, brush truck and tanker.
“We're emptying the station for this,” said Jessica Parker, treasurer of the Prospect-Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Department.
One of the vehicles will be decorated while the others will remain clean in case of emergencies during the time of the event. As Santa is paraded around town, he and his companions will wave to people they see along the route.
The five stops include Raisley Funeral Home parking lot at 5 p.m.; Franklin Township building at 5:20 p.m.; Butler County Children's Center at 5:40 p.m.; Mt. Chestnut Presbyterian Church at 6 p.m.; and fire hall at 6:20 p.m. All of those times are approximations.
“Santa will arrive on the fire truck and get out and the kids will get a treat,” Raisley said.
At each stop, candy canes will be passed out to children. About 20 children at each stop will find a specially marked candy cane, passed out at random, which will award them a small surprise.
“The goal of it is to spread Christmas spirit,” Parker said.
Parker is also a teacher at Moraine Elementary School and has been instructing remotely in recent weeks. She said in a normal year, the children at this time would have enjoyed Christmas festivities in school and with one another.
“The spirit of Christmas isn't gone. It's still there,” she said. “We just have to see it a different way.”
Parker said the fire department and its firefighters take great pride in hosting Santa every year. She said it shows the fire department exists not only to protect the community, but also to bring its members together.
“The firefighters have been putting so much work into this,” she said. “They love doing stuff for the kids. It brings them joy.”
