Fireman's Christmas Party 1952, Beauregard Parish Louisiana Submitted by Jimmy E. Cooley Date: March 31, 2004 **** ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ **** The Fireman's Christmas Party for the Poor Children. The fireman gathered and repaired toys throughout the year for this event. They accepted donations of food, clothing, toys and money from local people and merchants for the one night party. J.B. Cooley (Fire Chief) obtained a list of needy families, each child was given several toys and each family was given clothes and food. The party started in the early evening, usually Friday night, with the arrival of Santa Claus. Santa called out each child's name and they came forward and got their gifts. J.B. Cooley always said that every child on the list was going to get at least one toy or gift and some fruit or nuts. When donations were not enough to cover the cost of the gifts and party, the volunteer fireman somehow raised the money even if they had to contribute from their own pockets. Jimmy Earl Cooley