Parade opens holiday festivities in Crosby

SANTA AND MRS. CLAUS ARRIVE on a Crosby Fire Department Truck last Saturday

CROSBY – More than a little politics was at work last Saturday when the Crosby-Huffman Chamber of Commerce held their Children’s Christmas Festival and Parade.

There were more vendors and craft participants than ever and kids enjoyed the rides inside the fairgrounds.

However, a traffic scheme caused some difficulties. Southbound traffic on FM2100 was allowed to keep moving, even as the parade went North to Wahl Street, and then looped South. The parade held the attention of locals but according to parade director Bob Ward, “This parade wore me out. Precinct 3 gave me a new guy and the idea was to run the parade through moving traffic, with patrol cars in front and back of the parade. But, there is one thing wrong with that and that is, local kids don’t know to stay out of the way of traffic. I was all over that parade trying to make sure everybody was safe.”

The push through method had apparently worked with the two “one-way” non-permitted parades and toy drives on the previous Saturday and at about 10:00 a.m. last Saturday for the toy drive. But the permitted parade is a lot different.

Then a trail rider was bucked off his horse on Wahl Street while waiting for traffic to move South on FM 2100 to get the parade moving back to the high school. The rider was taken by ambulance to the hospital. Fortunately, HCESD#5, the ambulance service for Crosby, had the foresight to have an ambulance follow the parade. Shortly thereafter, an altercation between two riders was broken up by other parade participants.

Meanwhile back at the front entrance and the judge’s tables, a large black truck immediately after the parade was to begin forced it’s way through the crowd at the front entrance to the fairgrounds. Then the occupant exited the truck and stated that he had to lock the gate for the Fair board. He wasn’t with the fair board. He was convinced not to do so and Santa was able to enter on Engine 82 of the Crosby Fire Dept. Families delighted in having their kids get their pictures taken with Santa Claus.