All I want for Christmas…

Years and years ago, I might have finished that thought with my two front teeth as the childrens song goes.

Fortunately, I've been blessed with fairly sturdy choppers for years. And those teeth were chattering a bit last week as the annual Ironton Downtown Christmas parade rolled through the streets on a cold, windy night.

But instead of asking for something this morning, I'd like to say thanks to some one - or more precisely some folks.

I know, I know, Thanksgiving was the week before last, and I'm a little late on my praise.

My wish is to say thanks to the members of the Ironton Lions Club. The civic club and its many members give back much to this community in some pretty significant ways.

From the annual Haunted Tunnel to this past week's Christmas Parade, the club seems to be always involved in community events. This year when a sponsor was needed for the annual Christmas parade, Lions Club members jumped right in to help.

A number of the members could be seen wearing the traditional Lions Club yellow vests on Monday night as they volunteered to help line up the Christmas parade on Monday.

Among the yellow jackets were: Lou Pyles, Jan Weisenburger, Lawrence County Judges Richard Walton and Frank McCown and Bill Ellis just to name a few.

Ironton is blessed to have the Lions Club among its civic clubs. The club seems always at the ready to help the community with almost any cause.

I was reminded of that last Monday night as the parade rolled through a sparkling downtown lit up with holiday lights.

Following the parade, as families rushed to their soon-to-be warm cars, I headed down Third Street.

Suddenly, I looked up and was surprised by the motorist just ahead of me

Santa Claus himself.

Perched atop a gorgeous antique Ford Thunderbird convertible, Santa waved and waved as he headed down the street.

Now, to me, that just shows you what kind of people makes up the Rotary Club. It might have been easy for Santa to just duck into a nice warm car for the trip home, but instead he kept up his civic duty, despite the cold.

So, boys and girls, if you wonder whether Santa Claus really exists, I can swear to you he does. I saw him on Third Street. And he has got some great helpers here in Ironton and most of them wear the yellow vests of the Lions Club.

Kevin Cooper is publisher of The Ironton Tribune. He can be reached at (740) 532-1445 ext. 12 or by e-mail to kevin.cooper@irontontribune.com.