Editor’s note: This is another column in Bill Boyd’s new series, “The Way It Was,” about growing up in Marysville. Bill continues to work with the Union County Historical Society to obtain information for his stories. With Marysville and Union County celebrating Bicentennial anniversaries in 2019 and 2020, respectively, these articles help depict what life was like in those early years.
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Sometime in the mid 1930s, my parents took me to see Santa Claus at Lazarus Department Store. I have no memories whatsoever of that day, but I heard my parents talk about it over the years. They said I was, like a lot of the other kids, pretty scared. I really didn’t want anything to do with that big guy in the red suit, so my visit was short-lived.
A year or so later, I had a different experience with Santa. It was an evening in mid-December of 1937. Both of my parents and my two sisters were playing cards at our dining room table. I was sitting only a foot or two from the window as I made hand shadows on the wall. My grandmother had recently taught me how to do that.
Suddenly I noticed someone outside looking in the window. The face was only a foot or so from the glass pane, and I recognized it immediately. It was Santa Claus. He waved at me, and then he ducked down and was gone.
“Oh, there’s Santa” I said as I looked out the window. My parents and sisters came to my side, and they said he was probably checking up on me, to see if I was being good. Oh wow, I think I was the happiest kid in town.
It was a moonlit night, and as I looked out the window, I saw Santa poke his head out from behind a tree. He waved at me, and then he did a little dance in the snow. He ran to another tree and hid behind it. When he poked his head out, he waved again and then he was gone.
I should say at this point that Santa was actually my grandmother Tracy wearing a Santa suit and mask. She was always doing things like that, which made it so much fun to live with her.
This time I felt no fear at all. I think that was because I was in the comfort of my own home, surrounded by my family. That was quite different than when I met Santa in the department store.
I believe youngsters today are better equipped to meet Santa for the first time. Maybe it’s because they are used to seeing him on TV. I also think that today’s kids are braver than I was in the 1930s so they aren’t frightened of him the way I was when I was little.
For example, I have a great grand niece named Mary Beth, and some time ago when she was about three years old, she started getting excited about seeing Santa Claus. She is a precocious child, and she loved to talk about Santa. She rehearsed what she would tell him, including all the toys she wanted. She would even tell him what her dog wanted. The whole experience was going to be great.
When the day arrived, Mary Beth’s parents took her to their favorite department store. There was a pretty long line so her parents suggested they come back later, but Mary Beth wouldn’t hear of it. She was ready to meet Santa and give him a hug.
When they made it to the front of the line, Mary Beth was grinning from ear to ear. One of Santa’s helpers, a lady in a red dress, picked her up and placed her on Santa’s lap.
Santa bent forward so his face was only a foot or so from Mary Beth. Then suddenly her grin turned into a look of horror, and she let out a scream. Then she climbed off Santa’s lap and took off running down the exit ramp.
I guess things really haven’t changed as much as I thought over the years. And today’s little kids really aren’t any braver than I was back in the 1930s.
Those wishing to contact Bill Boyd can e-mail him at bill@davidwboyd.com