Every December since the mid-80’s, the quiet streets of Grangeville come alive as Santa rides along wishing everyone a merry Christmas!
HOW IT ALL BEGAN…
The Santa Truck is a Buffalo Firetruck that was purchased, new, by the Grangeville Fire Department in 1944. Rumor has it, the truck was headed to an aircraft carrier during WWII. As a result of that, it was very basic, no chrome and nothing flashy. Somehow it found its way to Grangeville.
The fire department used it as a pumper until the mid-80’s when it was retired. Members of the fire department wanted to keep the truck so they decided to use it to spread holiday cheer! Santa got involved as well, so the truck was modified with a chair that he could sit on and be viewed from all angles.
The Santa Truck has been running for about 40 years now. There were a couple of years where the truck visited Cottonwood and White Bird but now it stays within Grangeville city limits due to weather and highway conditions.
HOW IT WORKS…
The Santa Truck runs from the Grangeville Tree Lighting Ceremony until the 23rd of December. It is not guaranteed to run every night because Santa has so many toys to make leading up to Christmas. The Santa Truck wraps up its route around 8pm so that kids can get some sleep and Santa can get back to his workshop.
If you want to see if Santa is driving by you, The Santa Truck can be tracked here: https://locate.brickhousesecurity.com/locator/index.html?t=419e174ae78ccff956dade6f746ade268D32DC0E766CDE9C05C28301312E5DA9C00CC182
WHY THE SANTA TRUCK MATTERS…
The Santa Truck is such a nostalgic and heartwarming tradition that brings the community together. Volunteers that drive Santa around, have recalled moments of kids in such a rush to see Santa that they run out without coats and shoes just to wave at him. The Santa Truck is just another touch of the small-town magic that we get to experience here in Grangeville.
