The connection between Santa and fire departments is historically strong -- and not just because both are tied to chimneys and have modes of transportation colored bright red. While communities around the Passamaquoddy Bay widely hoist Santa onto the top of a firetruck as part of their Christmas parades, two local traditions see the jolly figure making the rounds in a unique way.
      In Eastport, Santa joins the fire department to travel up and down every single street on Christmas Eve while sirens and music play, a tradition that goes back as far as Tessa Ftorek can remember. As a small child on Capen Avenue, she remembers running outside and waving to Santa -- and those memories continue through when she had children of her own. "We would go to my parents' house on Capen Avenue, and we'd all run out again and wave to Santa," Ftorek recalls.
      The urge to see and wave to Santa is strong, Ftorek says, remembering one year when she was sitting in a church pew for the Christmas service. "I got up from my pew and ran outside to wave. I admit I was not a child but probably in my 50s!"
      Now in her 70s, she says she still gets a thrill when she sees Santa on Christmas Eve. "It is special and magical, as anyone who grew up in Eastport can tell you."
      Eastport Fire Chief Richard Clark also remembers the tradition from his earliest years on the island. After becoming fire chief in 1986, he's helped to ensure it continues each year. "I enjoy the older people as much as the kids. They seem to enjoy it as much as the kids do."
      Not every year has gone smoothly, of course. Clark recalls one year when the firetruck siren failed. A police cruiser took the lead and did its part to alert residents to Santa's passage.
      Jon Cook, who played Santa for 39 years, remembers a few occasions when the truck would get stuck in snow -- "but we always got out." Keeping the hat and beard on while riding on top of the truck was sometimes tricky, Cook says, adding that he "lost them a few times" and had to hold them in place.
      Even still, it's a fond memory for Cook. "I enjoyed doing it. Getting out and around and getting to see everything -- all the kids on the streets and the decorations."
      These days, Dana Bowen holds the honor of playing Santa, the best part of which is "putting smiles on the faces of the kids."

Santa brings oranges in Lubec
      Just across the water, the children and residents of Lubec enjoy a different tradition. On a Saturday before Christmas, Santa is brought by firetruck down through the town with the siren going "to let all the kids know they're coming" and then turns back around to stop at any house with people in the dooryard to give them oranges, according to Assistant Fire Chief Bunky Tinker. "It's mostly children, but the truck will stop for anyone."
      The tradition goes back to the 1940s when Fire Chief Clarence Small purchased the department's first Santa suit, shares his great niece Jalene Matthews. He is remembered by his family today as a "sweet man" who "loved children" but never had any of his own. "He used to keep butterscotch and peppermint candy in his pockets to give to the kids he would see," Matthews says.
      There are some things that have changed over the years, Tinker says, as there used to be about 150 kids running out -- and lately there's about half that. The department now adds candy canes to the oranges for seasonal flavor.
      For Tinker, who has participated for the past 56 years, "watching the little ones" is his favorite part. "Some are scared, some aren't."