Last Friday marked the 50th anniversary of the lighting 

of the World's Tallest Christmas Tree. Strands of lights were 

hung from the Indianapolis War Memorial Monument

by volunteers from the International  Brotherhood

of Electrical Workers. Around its base, thousands of spectators

gathered to watch the entertainment before the tree

was switched on by a young girl who had won a coloring contest.

Santa Claus, accompanied by assistants, Frosty the Snowman, 

and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, strolled among the crowd,

visiting and posing for pictures with admirers of all ages.

Street peddlers, hawking light sabres, light sticks, and antlers decked 

with flashing lights, wandered the crowd the entire evening.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department used 

their mounted patrol to quietly keep watch over the throngs

of people. In recent years, the patrol has replaced

their earlier horses to improve their visibility at night, 

so that they are all now white, roan, or gray.