Engineuity
Antique pumper truck is Santa’s sled
A
Story by GALEN HOLLEY
n antique fire engine, a jolly Santa, and a county of caring neighbors have made the Pontotoc Christmas Parade the highlight of the community’s year. “It’s been basically the same thing yea these many years— good people, community spirit, and of course children,” said Fred Hood, who has played Ole St. Nick in the parade for 25 years. A former administrator of North Mississippi Medical Center Pontotoc, Hood was part of a group that situated Santa his swanky ride, a 1947 LaFrance Pumper fire truck. The engine last saw action more than a quarter of a century ago at the Thaxton Fire Department, and one day Hood noticed it sitting alongside other automotive relics outside Larry Montgomery’s diesel shop.
16 | Peek Into Christmas 2020
