Santa Claus lane

Dear Editor,

Re: article in Feb. 5 McCook Daily Gazette by Stuart Grant on Santa Claus Lane in McCook:

I hate to throw cold water on this article, but some salient facts are in order. First of all, Grant said his father began to build what he later called Santa Claus Lane in 1953. Bill Grant might have built the sets, but the name he gave them wasn't original.

That honor belongs to the beloved old cowboy, Gene Autry, who was responsible for the name in 1949. Autry was the founder of a highly successful television station, KTLA, in Los Angeles right after World War II. In 1947, he was one of the organizers of a popular Christmas parade that took place in Hollywood, and was televised by his station.

Autry often told the story about his participation in the 1948 parade. As he rode Champion, just ahead of Santa Claus, he heard the announcer say "Here comes Santa Claus right down Santa Claus Lane."

Autry said the words stuck in his mind and he went home that night and composed a song, "Here Comes Santa Claus." the first line is, "Here comes Santa Claus/Here comes Santa Claus/Right down Santa Claus Lane."

I'm sure everyone knows the song, which was recorded by Gene Autry in 1949.

Since then, the parade became known as the Santa Claus Lane Parade, and was hugely popular.

Every movie star in Hollywood eventually rode in it. When Autry died in 1998, the name was changed to the Hollywood Christmas Parade," and has lost a lot of its lustre. Autry's old television channel, which his family no longer owns, doesn't televise the parade any more. Instead, it's on cable.

Sincerely,

Thomas Kope,

Baldwin Park, Calif.

EDITOR'S NOTE -- Grant made no claim that his father originated the whole Santa Claus Lane idea, only that he build McCook's version, which became an annual tradition.