Railroad historian, beloved Santa helper and longtime community volunteer has been named grand marshal for Historic Folsom’s Hometown Parade, a milestone celebration honoring America’s 250th anniversary, Folsom’s 80th birthday and the 65th Folsom Pro Rodeo
Some people become part of a community’s history because of one moment, one accomplishment or one title. Others become part of that history slowly, over many years, through quiet dedication, countless volunteer hours, familiar smiles, shared stories and a steady commitment to preserving what makes a place special.
For more than four decades, Bill Anderson has been one of those people in Folsom.
At 86 years old, Anderson has become one of the city’s most familiar and beloved figures, known by some as a railroad historian, by others as the longtime face of the Folsom Railroad Museum and by generations of families as the Santa Claus who helped make Christmas in Folsom feel a little more magical. This year, he will take on another title: grand marshal of the 2026 Historic Folsom Hometown Parade.
Anderson will lead the parade on Wednesday, July 1, during what may be one of the most meaningful celebrations Historic Folsom has hosted in years and to add to it, it happens on Anderson’s actual birthday. The evening will bring together three major milestones: the 250th anniversary of the United States, the 80th anniversary of the City of Folsom and the 65th anniversary of the Folsom Pro Rodeo. Following the parade, the Historic Folsom Cattle Drive will make a special one-time-only return, bringing cattle back down Sutter Street in a tribute to the western heritage and hometown traditions that have long helped shape the community.
For the Folsom Historic District Association, choosing Anderson as grand marshal was more than a ceremonial decision. It was a way to honor someone whose life and volunteer work reflect the very history the parade is designed to celebrate.
“Our 2026 Hometown Parade Committee had the honor of asking the one and only Bill Anderson to be our Grand Marshal,” said Folsom Historic District Association Executive Director Judy Collinsworth. “Bill isn’t just part of Folsom, he IS Folsom.”
Collinsworth said Anderson’s influence can be seen across Historic Folsom, from the city’s railroad preservation work to the many families who have learned local history through his storytelling.
“A passionate railroad historian and storyteller, he’s spent decades preserving and bringing our railroad history to life,” Collinsworth said. “From helping revive iconic pieces of our Historic District to leading the railroad museum and sharing his knowledge with families inside a restored rail car, Bill has dedicated thousands of volunteer hours to making sure railroad history isn’t just remembered — it is experienced.”
Collinsworth said Anderson’s kindness and humility are as much a part of his legacy as his historical work.
“And beyond all that, he’s one of the kindest, most genuine people you’ll ever meet,” she said. “We can’t think of a better person to lead this year’s parade, especially in such a milestone year for our city and our country.”
For many longtime residents, the selection feels natural. Anderson has spent years telling Folsom’s story, but over time, he has also become part of it. His path to that role began not with a formal appointment or a lifelong plan to become a historian, but with curiosity and a deep appreciation for the city he and his wife, Sharron, came to call home.
Born in Oroville, Anderson later worked as a surveyor for the California Department of Transportation. Sharron was from Southern California, and Folsom became something of a meeting place between their two worlds. The couple enjoyed boating on Folsom Lake, and over time, the city grew from a favorite destination into their home.
After moving to Folsom more than 40 years ago, Anderson began discovering pieces of local history that captured his imagination.
“When I moved to Folsom, I discovered the Pony Express and became fascinated with the history of it,” Anderson recalled.
That fascination opened the door to another discovery that would change the course of his life in the community. Anderson learned that Folsom was not only a Pony Express stop, but also the western terminus of the Sacramento Valley Railroad, the first railroad west of the Mississippi River.
“After I discovered Folsom was the first railroad town in the West,” Anderson said, “the rest was history.”
The phrase proved fitting. Over the decades that followed, Anderson immersed himself in Folsom’s railroad past. He read book after book, studied old maps and photographs, explored historic sites and learned the stories of the people who helped shape the region during the Gold Rush era and the earliest years of rail transportation in California.
He became especially fascinated by Theodore Judah, the visionary engineer who dreamed of building a transcontinental railroad and once saw Folsom as central to that future. Anderson’s knowledge grew beyond dates and names. He developed the ability to make the past feel alive, describing stagecoaches and wagons crowding the old dirt road toward Placerville, explaining how railroad connections shaped commerce and settlement, and helping listeners imagine a time when Folsom stood at the edge of a transportation revolution.
That gift for storytelling is one of the reasons Anderson has become so important to local history. Many residents know pieces of Folsom’s past because they read them in a book, saw them on a sign or visited a historic site. Many others know them because Anderson told them, often with the kind of detail and enthusiasm that made the city’s earliest days feel close enough to touch.
His passion eventually became preservation work. Anderson helped create the Folsom, El Dorado and Sacramento Historical Railroad Association in 1995, an organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the region’s railroad heritage. Three years later, those efforts helped establish the Folsom Railroad Museum, which has since become one of Historic Folsom’s most unique community treasures.
Located in Historic Folsom, the museum preserves the stories, equipment, artifacts and memories tied to the Sacramento Valley Railroad and the city’s role in early California transportation. For visitors, it offers a chance to step into a chapter of history that shaped not only Folsom, but the broader region. For Anderson, it has been a place to teach, volunteer, welcome visitors and keep the city’s railroad legacy alive.
As president of the railroad association and longtime manager of the museum, Anderson has spent countless hours greeting guests, mentoring volunteers, supporting restoration projects, raising awareness and sharing stories with families, school groups, tourists and longtime residents. His work has helped transform railroad history from something tucked away in archives into something people can experience firsthand.
One of the organization’s proudest accomplishments was the restoration of Folsom’s historic railroad turntable, one of the Historic District’s most iconic landmarks. The turntable, once used to manually rotate locomotives, remains a tangible connection to the days when railroads helped shape California’s growth and Folsom played a central role in that story.
Anderson’s preservation work has not stopped there. His current passion project is the restoration of the historic railroad superintendent’s house in the Historic District, a structure he hopes will one day become another place where residents and visitors can learn about Folsom’s railroad past. To Anderson, saving places like the turntable and superintendent’s house is not only about preserving buildings or objects. It is about preserving identity.
That dedication earned Anderson recognition from the Folsom Historical Society in 2019, when he was named the organization’s History Hero, an honor recognizing those who have given much of their time to preserving Folsom’s history.
“It was truly an honor to receive the 2019 History Hero award,” Anderson said at the time.
Even with the honors, Anderson has remained humble about his contributions.
“I just like being involved in the community and sharing what the railroad meant,” he once said.
Yet railroad history is only part of the reason Anderson has become such a beloved figure in Folsom. For an entire generation of local families, he is remembered not as a historian or museum volunteer, but as Santa Claus.
His journey into the role began more than three decades ago at Theodore Judah Elementary School, where his son Mike attended school. As Christmas approached one year, someone asked Anderson if he would portray Santa for a school event. He agreed, but the experience came with one detail he never forgot. The costume included a fake beard.
“They gave me a phony beard,” Anderson later recalled.
Deciding he could do better, Anderson took a different approach. Beginning each September, he would grow his own beard in preparation for the holiday season so that by Christmas his transformation into Santa would be complete. What started as a simple volunteer opportunity soon evolved into one of the community’s most cherished holiday traditions.
For nearly 30 years, Anderson became a familiar part of Christmas in Folsom. He appeared at schools, community celebrations, tree lightings, local businesses and countless special events throughout the region. Children lined up to share Christmas wishes while parents captured photographs that would later find a place in family albums and scrapbooks.
Year after year, Anderson embraced the role not because he sought recognition, but because he genuinely enjoyed seeing the joy it brought to others. Over time, he became far more than someone wearing a red suit. For many local children, he was Santa.
The role reflected many of the same qualities that have defined Anderson’s broader contributions to the community. Patience, generosity, kindness and a willingness to devote countless hours to making life a little brighter for others can be found both in his work preserving local history and in his years creating holiday memories for local families.
Those who know Anderson also know that he tends to measure success in personal terms, not public honors. When asked what he is most proud of, he does not point first to the railroad museum, the turntable restoration, the superintendent’s house project or the awards he has received through the years. Instead, he points to his family, particularly his son Mike and his college graduation.
His perspective on life is refreshingly straightforward. Asked what advice he would give his younger self, Anderson’s answer is simple: “Don’t wait too long before traveling.” Asked for the best words of wisdom he has received, he points to a lesson that reflects much of his community service: “Don’t let your team down.” His favorite saying is equally concise and perhaps explains why he has earned so much respect throughout the community over the years: “Respect others.”
Those values have quietly guided his life in Folsom for more than four decades. They are also part of why his selection as grand marshal feels so appropriate for this year’s parade. The celebration is about history, but it is also about the people who carry that history forward. Anderson has done that not from a distance, but through years of hands-on service, personal connection and a willingness to show up again and again for the community.
2026 parade goes primetime
The July 1 celebration is expected to be one of the largest and most memorable community gatherings of the summer. Presented by Shriners Children’s, the Historic Folsom Hometown Parade begins at 7 p.m. and will travel along Sutter Street from Coloma Street to Reading Street. The move to an evening parade gives the event a different feel this year, allowing families to gather in the cooler part of the day while Historic Folsom comes alive under the summer sky.
The parade will feature marching bands, community organizations, civic groups, businesses, performers, elected officials, colorful floats and plenty of hometown pride. Organizers say the event is designed to celebrate the traditions that have made Historic Folsom a gathering place for generations while also highlighting the people, organizations and local institutions that continue to shape the city today.
New this year, announcers will be stationed throughout the parade route to help spectators learn more about the entries and participants as they pass. Former Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness and resident John Felts will serve as announcers on the 700 block of Sutter Street. Returning favorites Ian Cornell and Bryan Greenwalt will once again provide commentary from the 600 and 800 blocks, while Alicia Wilson joins the announcing team on the 900 block.
The expanded announcing program is designed to bring more energy and context to the full length of the route, helping families and visitors feel connected to the parade no matter where they are watching from along Sutter Street.
Following the parade, at approximately 8 p.m., attention will shift to the special one-time-only return of the Historic Folsom Cattle Drive. In partnership with Choose Folsom, approximately 50 head of cattle, including Texas Longhorns, will be guided through Historic Folsom by experienced riders in a tribute to the region’s ranching and western heritage.
Organizers emphasize that the event is not a cattle run, but a carefully managed cattle drive. The animals will be calmly guided down Sutter Street, creating a safe, family-friendly experience that gives spectators a rare chance to witness a tradition rooted in the region’s past.
The return of the cattle drive is being held specifically to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States, the 80th anniversary of the City of Folsom and the 65th anniversary of the Folsom Pro Rodeo. For longtime residents, the sight of cattle moving through Historic Folsom may bring back memories of earlier celebrations. For younger generations, it may be their first chance to see a piece of living history unfold in the middle of the city’s historic core.
The cattle drive also serves as a symbolic bridge between Folsom’s past and present. Before the city became one of Northern California’s thriving suburban communities, the region was shaped by ranching, railroads, gold country travel, western traditions and people who built their lives around the land and the routes that connected one community to the next. Bringing cattle back to Sutter Street, even for one night, adds another layer of meaning to an evening already built around history and heritage.
The timing is intentional. Less than 24 hours later, the 65th annual Folsom Pro Rodeo begins, launching three days of rodeo action, patriotic celebration and Fourth of July festivities that draw thousands of visitors to the city each year. Together, the parade, cattle drive and rodeo create a week of celebration unlike any other on Folsom’s calendar.
To help reduce traffic and make attending easier, Sacramento Regional Transit will offer free Gold Line rides from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. on July 1 for those attending the Hometown Parade and Historic Folsom Cattle Drive. The Gold Line takes riders directly to Historic Folsom Station, just steps from the festivities.
Riders can show a photo of the event poster or postcard and the event QR code to receive free rides to and from Historic Folsom. Trains are expected to arrive at Historic Folsom Station every 15 to 30 minutes. Riders boarding at Iron Point Station between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. will receive a free gift from Folsom Premium Outlets, while those arriving at Historic Folsom Station will receive complimentary flags and bracelets while supplies last.
For those driving, parking will be limited after 3 p.m. due to event activities and road closures. Available parking options include the 905 Leidesdorff Garage, where a $5 donation is requested between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m.; 604 Sutter Street; the Wool and Sutter parking lot; the Traders Lane parking lot; parking behind Powerhouse Pub on Greenback Lane; two lots at Reading Street and Folsom Boulevard; a private lot near Karen’s Bakery open from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. for $5 per vehicle; and Rodeo Grounds parking with access to the Johnny Cash Trail.
For those that can’t make it, Folsom Times and Folsom TV will be broadcast a livestream of the entire event accessible through FolsomTimes.com, on the mobile app and on the Folsom Times YouTube channel as well.
Visitors are encouraged to arrive early, carpool, use ride-share services or take advantage of free light rail service whenever possible. With the parade, cattle drive and rodeo week excitement expected to draw large crowds, Historic Folsom is preparing for an evening that blends celebration, nostalgia and community pride.
As thousands gather along Sutter Street on July 1, they will come for many reasons. Some will be there to celebrate Folsom’s 80th anniversary. Others will come to honor America’s 250th birthday. Many will be excited for the rare return of the cattle drive or the beginning of rodeo week.
Yet woven through all of those celebrations is the story of a man who has spent much of his life preserving the very history being honored.
Over the past four decades, people have come to know Bill Anderson in many different ways. Some know him as the railroad historian who can bring Folsom’s earliest days to life with remarkable detail. Others remember him as the Santa Claus who visited their school, lit a community Christmas tree or posed for family photos year after year. Many know him simply as a friend, neighbor, volunteer and storyteller whose passion for the community has touched countless lives.
Together, those roles have made Anderson something increasingly rare in a growing city — a living connection between generations.
In a year dedicated to celebrating history, there may be no more fitting person to lead Historic Folsom’s Hometown Parade than the man who has devoted so much of his life to preserving it.
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