MERLE MONAHAN/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
merlemonah@aol.com

WINDSOR—The Town of Windsor goes all out for their Christmas celebration. This year it was a day-long event.

Starting at 8 a.m. this past Saturday, more than 150 children converged on the Windsor Community building to have breakfast with Santa. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library with the help of the Windsor Woman’s Club, the little ones quickly ate their fill of freshly cooked pancakes, then stood in line for a turn to sit on Santa’s knee.

“It was about 11:30 a.m. before Santa heard the last child,” said Councilwoman Patty Flemming. “Then he was on hand to ride on a fire truck in the parade at 4 p.m., so he had a long, busy day,” she added.

Flemming, who was chairwoman of the parade committee, said that in planning the day, there were to be four events. In addition to the breakfast with Santa, an open house at the new police station was to be from 11 a. m. ‘til 2 p.m. and the parade was scheduled for 4 p.m. The tree lighting at Robertson Park concluded the events.

“The breakfast ran a little over,” she added, “but everything else was perfect.”

The parade, just the second one in recent years, started at Farmer’s Bank, proceeded down Church Street and ended at Robertson Park on Duke Street.

An estimated 200 people lined the streets as about 30 entries passed by.

Mayor Carita Richardson and Betty Hardy, former owner of Hardy’s Florist, were co-grand marshals, while other entries included the Town of Windsor office staff, Isle of Wight County Sheriff Mark Marshall, Fire and rescue vehicles, business, church and Boy and Girl Scout floats, the Duke’s marching band, antique Vehicles and the Windsor Police, to name a few.

Fire Department President Clarence Newsome and Chief Lee Marshall rode by in the town’s very first fire truck, a 1947 Chevrolet.

Richardson noted that planning and executing the events of the day took a lot of time and effort and commended town employees for their dedication.

“Despite the cold and wind, it was a great day,” she added.