Among all of the many Christmas holiday memories, I especially remember Santa Claus a.k.a. Tony.
For 15 years or more, Santa was a regular visitor during the Christmas Season at our elementary school.
I held the position of school secretary. Santa would come to the principal’s office in early fall to find out the date of our Christmas program.
Our school was top priority, as Santa had many other commitments during that time.
To the delight of all of the children and some 600 adults, Santa made his grand entrance at the end of the Christmas program as the kindergarten children were singing his song.
Candy canes, which were plentiful, were distributed room-by-room with the help of Santa’s elves (moms).
Santa also took time to deliver the food, clothing, gifts and money that we collected to the needy families in the community.
Sadly our Santa passed away suddenly at the age of 49 in the middle 1990s.
I will always cherish his memory.
His kindness to the children and all those in need made him a very special person to all of us.
From up above, I hear the bells jingling and the very familiar phrase: “Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas!”
Merry Christmas to you, Santa Claus, a.k.a. Tony.
