Santa greets all at Preston firefighter open house
December 1, 2008
By Stephanie Small
Santa, his reindeer and a magical sleigh are all part of Eastside Fire & Rescue’s Station 74 annual free holiday open house.
Raelynn Fleisher tells Santa (Earle Soderman) what she wants for Christmas. By Ryan Fleisher
The event Sunday, Dec. 7, in Preston, has been an annual happening since the 1950s.
Michelle Overholt, who’s been the event planner for more than a decade, said the open house is a great way for the community to come and get to know their local fire department officials.
“The community can come and meet us all under nice circumstances at this event,” she said.
Along with meeting fire department employees, adults and children alike can check out the fire engines and fire equipment, as well as enjoy cookies and juice. Children will also receive candy bags as gifts.Perhaps the biggest attraction, though, is the appearance of Santa and the sleigh, which is created out of a fire truck complete with Santa’s reindeer. Volunteers from the fire department help with facilitating sleigh rides for the children, as well as with playing Santa. Many parents also use the opportunity to take photographs of their children with Santa.
Ernie Soderman, a volunteer firefighter, is helping operate the fire engine sleigh rides this year. Soderman has been involved with the open house since it began more than 50 years ago.
“I used to be the one sitting on Santa’s lap, and now I’m helping out with the event I attended as a child,” he said.
About 50 people attend the event each year, he said. Overholt said she remembered a year when there were 150.
“We went through a lot of candy bags that year,” she said.
Whatever the attendance, though, community members — and the children — really enjoy the opportunity to get out and start the holidays right.
“The community — and us — really appreciate it,” Soderman said. “It’s a fun event that the kids really enjoy.”
If you go
EFR’s Station 74 holiday open house
2-4 p.m. Dec. 7
Preston Fire Station
8641 Preston-Fall City Road
Stephanie Small is a student in the University Of Washington Department Of Communication News Laboratory.
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