The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG - They say you're never too old for Santa, and I must say I believe that's true. The holidays can be a tough season for many, and this year I've found myself part of that crowd. Perhaps that's why I was hit with the sudden urge for a visit with Santa. (Donning the journalism hat comes in handy at times - though I'm pretty sure he'd have been happy to see me without my excuse of an interview.)

Since this is Santa's first Christmas season to remain at his Waitsburg home in many years, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to see if he could fill me with some Christmas cheer. By the end of my visit, we were exchanging hugs as we wiped tears from our eyes. I left filled with stories and images of faith, hope and love - ideals far stronger and more enduring than any transient puff of holiday cheer.

With Waitsburg's notoriety as "one-of-akind" it only makes sense that Santa would make his vacation home here. When he's not overseeing toy production, Santa and Mrs. Claus escape the brutal cold of the North Pole by residing in Waitsburg where they are known to many as Skip and Lois Winchester. And when he's not busy making toys for children, Santa travels the country using his engineering knowledge to make what he calls "toys for big kids," such as refineries, oil wells and chemical plants.

For the last eighteen years Santa has spent the "Santa season" - 12 hours a day from the Saturday before Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve - visiting with children and adults at a New York mall. Santa goes to lend a hand to his Santa helpers - those "cotton-bearded" Santas that allow him to be in more than one place at a time. While in New York, Santa visits with about 5,000 children and 5,000 adults each year. Over the years, those visits have resulted in exceptional friendships and tale-upon-tale of true Christmas spirit.

Since they would miss the mall this year, Santa and Mrs. Claus couldn't help but make a pre-Santa season trip to New York to touch base with some of the special friends they have made over the years. The Clauses had dinner with eight-year-old Kailee, a blind girl who loves to snuggle in Santa's beard. Kailee and her mother have visited Santa at the mall every other-day, for years. "Kailee spent the first six months of her life in intensive care. Her mother prayed, on Christmas Eve, 'If you will just let me have her, I will dedicate my life to her,'" said Santa. "Little girls like her are what it's all about," he said.

Santa said that people want to hear funny stories, but that ten times to one, the stories are more sad than funny. "Children tell Santa things they can't tell anyone else," he said. In one instance Santa was able to aid in the capture of two men who had abducted a young girl from school.

And it's not only the young that turn to Santa in desperation. Santa recalled a special young man who submitted a gift list with only one wish - a kidney. He had been on dialysis for ten years. Today he has two infant kidneys and is doing well.

One of Santa's favorite stories is of a food court guard who approached him, distraught that his mother's boiler had gone out. Santa and Mrs. Claus prayed with the man, but thought they'd better get busy and see what they could make happen themselves. They were saddened that they were unable to find help for the woman. Two days later the guard approached Santa in tears, thanking him that the boiler was fixed. "No one knew who had done it," said Santa. "What I learned is that prayer is powerful and Santa's job is to pray and trust that the Lord can do things - even fix a boiler. That was probably one of the strongest lessons I've ever had," he said.

Santa said that while in Waitsburg he's here to do "any sweet thing that anybody wants us to do. We're here to minister, laugh, cry, pray and do whatever is needed," he said.

Santa said that anyone in need of their own dose of Christmas spirit or who would like to hear the story of his great, great, great, great grandfather, Italian Bishop St. Nicholas, is welcome to drop in for a visit at his home on 437 W. 6th Street. If I were you, I'd seriously consider taking him up on the offer. It's good for the soul.