When Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive at Draper Historic Park for the annual Candy Cane Hunt on Dec. 9, they will be riding in a fire truck. Santa's unusual mode of transportation hearkens back to a beloved Draper Christmas tradition from years ago. For decades, starting in the early 1950s, Santa Claus rode on the fire truck delivering treats to children all over town.

Lynne Orgill, president of Draper Historical Society recalled, "Santa on the fire truck was the big tradition with the public.”

“I remember Santa traveling around town on the fire engine with bags of candy,” Howard Smith said via text. “Kids lined the streets when they heard the siren.”

Draper’s first Fire Chief, James Rayburn Dow, started the tradition. Members of the fire department pooled their money to purchase a secondhand Santa suit and the Salt Lake County fire chief authorized the use of the fire truck. Dow organized turkey shoots on Thanksgiving and New Years to raise funds for the event. “Santa Rides the Fire truck” was an annual tradition for decades until Draper’s population grew too large.

Linda Richins’ father-in-law, Vern Richins, was among the firefighters who donned the Santa suit. “Santa gave out paper lunch sacks containing an orange, nuts and hard candy,” Richins remembered.

Going out to meet Santa as he came down the street was part of childhood for generations of kids in Draper and the decision not to go out was a sign of growing up. “The first year I didn’t go out, my mom cried,” Jenny Haase said.

That children would get excited to meet Santa on the fire truck and receive a small sack of treats reflects the simplicity of Christmas celebrations decades ago when most of Draper’s residents lived on family farms.

Esther Kinder recalled Christmas at her home in the late 1940s. “Every Christmas was special,” she said. “Two days before, my dad would go up the mountain and bring back a tree.” Her brother decorated the tree with tinsel icicles and bubble lights. “On Christmas Eve, we would have a little family program. One would read a Christmas story, one would sing a Christmas song,” Kinder explained. “Back in those days Santa didn’t bring much, but we were happy. We were thrilled with what we got.”

Haase’s mother, Jean Hendricksen, also lived in Draper in the 1940s. She recalled that at Christmas time, “A lot of things were homemade. My mother would sew a new dress for me and there were plenty of goodies to eat.”

Orgill remembered frosty Christmas Eves in the 1950s and 60s walking down the lane to her grandmother’s house over sparkling snow. “Aunt Lucille would be in the kitchen frying up spudnuts,” she said. “Best doughnuts in the world.”

As a community, people in Draper celebrated Christmas at church and in school. Richins remembered that she and her husband, Leland Richins, took on the tradition started by her in-laws to donate a Christmas tree to the Second Ward cultural hall. Haase, who grew up in Draper in the 1960s and 70s, recalled buying handmade gifts for her family at the Christmas bazaar that was held there.

Holiday celebrations in Draper’s schools looked very much like those today with children making special art projects and learning Christmas songs. Hendricksen, who taught school for 32 years, explained that the Christmas program for parents was held in the old gym at the Park School. “The children sang for their parents,” she said. “I played the piano one year. It was always fun!”

Some Draper Christmas traditions, like the annual “Messiah” sing-along, have been around for decades and continue to this day. Others, like the lighting of the Tree of Light in Draper Park and the Candy Cane Hunt are more recent. Although traditions have changed over the years, the winter holidays are still a special time in Draper.