News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The Sisters Saddle Bags honored Lei Durdan during the Sisters Christmas Parade.
The man himself rounded up the end of the parade.
"Now Christmas is officially on the way."
So said Kathryn Godsiff as Santa Claus rolled by in a covered wagon on Hood Avenue, headed off to meet and mingle with his young fans at the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce offices.
Santa was riding drag on a parade that included some 35 crowd-pleasing entries.
The crowd itself was exceptionally large, lured to line Hood Avenue by a relatively warm and sunny day (and perhaps boosted by the fact that the Ducks and the Beavers had taken care of their gridiron battle the day before).
The crowd cheered as a pair of unicyclists clasped arms and spun each other, then bounced up and down on one wheel.
Keith Cyrus and Rita Trachsel, among the original founders of the Cloverdale RFPD, drove a 1944 fire truck while the Outlaws state champion soccer team clung to the sides, receiving the cheers of the crowd.
Ann Richardson and Clyde Dildine raced their multi-corgi open sleigh, much to everyone's delight. Cries went up: "They're awesome!" "Oh, my gosh they are so darling!" The little dogs paid little mind, fixed on pleasing their boss and earning a treat.
The City of Sisters portrayed "A Charlie Brown Christmas" while passing out candy, while the Church of the Nazarene created a Nativity scene.
The Sisters Saddle Bags dismounted to walk the parade route this year, in honor of their recently departed friend Lei Durdan. Six original members from the very first Saddle Bags ride (which Durdan participated in) were in the parade. The ladies' usual sharp-looking Western garb was enhanced by flowery Hawaiian leis.
Ken Scott's Imagination Gallery rolled out their stunning Cinderella carriage, filled with little princesses, to many an oohh! and ahhh! from the crowd.
This was the 36th annual running of the Sisters Christmas Parade - now a longstanding family tradition for Sisters Country folks and for visitors who come to Sisters over Thanksgiving looking for a little down-home country
charm.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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