Rudolph the Red-Nosed Pumping Unit 2011

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Pumping Unit is a Lufkin Christmas ritual steeped in holiday cheer and East Texas tradition. For over 40 years, crowds have gathered to watch the lighting of the festive pumping unit, decorated to look like Santa’s favorite reindeer.

Brought to us by Lufkin Industries, Rudolph is a full-size Mark 640 oil pumping unit. The unit is fully operational; however, the red paint job is a special touch reserved only for the holiday season. It takes nearly three days for a crew to get Rudolph moved in to his holiday spot in the Lufkin mall parking lot. It takes an electrician about four days to set up the 1,000+ 7-watt lights that adorn Rudolph. When the unit is fully extended, it is 45 feet from top to bottom. Talk about a Christmas miracle! Attached to Rudolph is a 38-foot dump trailer decorated to look like Santa’s sleigh, complete with a wooden cutout of Santa and all of his gifts for the good boys and girls of Lufkin.

This year, there was a holiday warmth in the air as people interacted with one another in the time leading up to Rudolph’s lighting. The Christmas spirit was palpable and clearly showed in the expectant faces of the children taking in the sights and sounds. Santa was available in the parking lot for photos, and as the children saw him, their faces lit up and there were many squeals of excitement. To bring even more festivity to the event, there were fun foam reindeer antlers for the kids to wear. Santa’s favorite snack, milk and cookies, were provided to everyone by Foremost. As children munched on cookies and craned their necks for glimpses of Santa, Christmastime officially settled over the city of Lufkin.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Fuel Pump has become known as the kick-off to the Angelina County holiday season. As an exciting, family-friendly event, the lighting of Rudolph brings the whole community together to begin the celebration of the Christmas season. Let the holidays begin!