It was chilly and windy on Sunday afternoon, but the warmth of the holiday season surrounded the attendees of the 25th annual Polk Township tree lighting ceremony and visit with Santa Claus.

Once again, attendees gathered on the lawn of Salem-St. Paul Lutheran Church in Kresgeville, across from the Polk Township Veterans Memorial.

COVID precautions were in place, as all activities occurred outside and there were bottles of hand sanitizer at the craft tables and refreshments table.

The event began at 4 p.m. instead of at 6 p.m., like previous years, so there would be sunshine for the crafts and possibly a warmer temperature.

“It is more kid-oriented now that it is earlier. We may consider keeping it at this time next year. It is a great community event.” said Joan McKinsey, chair of the Polk Township Veterans Memorial Commission.

The event was sponsored by the commission and the church.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary, attendees could bring a photo of a local veteran to put inside an ornament and hang it on the tree.

Trenton Greenzweig hung an ornament with the photo of his late grandfather, Sgt. Barry Schaeffer. Schaeffer was well-known in the West End, as he liked to chat with patrons while eating at Cherry’s Sunset Diner and he collected tickets at the West End Fair admission gate.

Pastor Deb Scheffey opened with a prayer.

“We have gathered to celebrate the gift of life. Christmas brings light in winter,” she said.

As they awaited Santa’s arrival, kids could decorate a foam tree or foam ornament with festive stickers, have their photo taken with the Grinch, write a letter to Santa and listen to Shirley Haydt read the Pennsylvania Dutch version of The Night Before Christmas.

Haydt sat in a chair lined with blankets amid the trees of Adam’s Faith Garden to read the story.

Adam Jablonski created the garden as his Eagle Scout project in 2012 and it is dedicated for use by the community. Its lighting is in his memory for his service to the community.

He died in 2013 at age 19. He had a rare form of cancer.

These trees, along with a large tree next to the Veterans Memorial, were lit Sunday.

The Grinch held a box with a switch, and when the crowd counted down from 13 to one, Brayden Kindrew flipped the switch.

His letter to Santa was chosen randomly from the bag, and he got the honor of lighting the trees.

The crowd cheered as the lights on the tree began to sparkle. Christmas tunes began to play, and the crowd was encouraged to sing along.

During “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” a Polk Township Volunteer Fire Company truck slowly traveled down Trach Road with Santa Claus riding in the front passenger seat.

Santa waved and carefully stepped down to the blacktop, where he pulled candy canes and stickers from his sack to give to children. Families stepped up to take their photos with him.

Polk Township Veterans Memorial committee members handed out cookies and hot chocolate.

McKinsey thanked the crowd for coming out to the annual event.

She reminded them to look at the veterans’ plaque for the memorial and let her know of any name misspellings. The plaque will be unveiled during the ceremony on the Sunday before Memorial Day 2022.