Santa Claus came to Portsmouth (photos)

Posted 12/12/18

PORTSMOUTH — This year’s Santa Tours tours ended Monday night after eight nights of visits to every street in Portsmouth.

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Santa Claus came to Portsmouth (photos)

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — This year’s Santa Tours tours ended Monday night after eight nights of visits to every street in Portsmouth. 

The all-volunteer operation, which has its genesis in the late Henry “Hawk” Silvia’s revival of the Santa Tours in the mid-’80s, used two “sleighs” — a flatbed truck pulled by John Deer lawn tractors — that visited local families nightly.

On the last night, Santa offered a drive-by greeting to folks attending the Town Council meeting at Town Hall. 

After Santa waved in the direction of the council chambers on his way down Quaker Hill, council member J. Mark Ryan asked, “Can I run out and get a candy cane?” 

Council President Kevin Aguiar swiftly replied, “You’re not on the ‘good list,’ I’ve heard.”

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A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.