Page 4 - Copyright 2013 - Pamplin Media Group

e a s t c o u n t y l e a d e r
november 2013 4
Tucked in the closet of a southwest
Gresham home is a box of letters written
to a gentleman who represents the age-
old spirit of Christmas.
Folded pieces of paper are scrawled
with crooked elementary letters in cray-
on or pencil, while others are written for
a child too young to hold a pen.
All hold a place in Santa’s heart.
“ ey remind me why I do what I
do,” said Santa Claus, aka Mark Brandt.
“ ey remind me why children love San-
ta — he brings happiness into their life
and it makes me feel whole to give that to
them. It lls me with a lot of joy.”
For the last 13 years, visitors at the
Gresham History Museum have been
greeted by the closest thing to the real
Santa as seen in these parts. His eyes
do twinkle, his cheeks are rosy, and his
hearty “Ho, ho, ho” can break down even
the most hard-hearted Scrooge of the
season.
Brandt, 58, is a longtime resident of
Gresham, who recalls fondly growing up
in a family who cherished the Christmas
season. His mother took great care to
decorate the family’s home in Newberg
each year, and Christmas Eve was al-
ways spent traveling over the river and
through the woods to his grandparents
home in Aloha.
But Brandt’s sister established what
became a family tradition when she
found creative ways to prolong the gi
opening process.
“She would suspend something like
a ring inside a small box and then bury
that in bigger packaging so you had to
keep going and going to get to the pres-
ent,” Brandt said. “It was all about fooling
you with what was what.”
Brandt and his wife Bonnie, altered
the idea when their own ve children
were young. ey covered each child’s
gi s in di erent wrapping paper and le
a small box in their stocking, identifying
which gi s were theirs.
“We didn’t put any tags on the pack-
ages so they didn’t know which gi s
were theirs until that morning,” Brandt
explained. “ ey didn’t think it was too
funny if they opened the wrong present
and had to give it to their brother or sis-
ter a er they opened it.”
More than a decade ago, the late Pat
Stone, executive director for the Gresh-
am Historical Society, called Brandt say-
ing she was in need of a Santa for the
museum’s holiday season. He donned
the suit and discovered a calling that
has since led him to play the part for the
city of Gresham’s Spirit of Christmas tree
lighting event and functions at Skamania
Lodge in Washington State.
“I enjoyed that rst year at the mu-
seum tremendously,” Brandt said. “I
looked forward to it the next year and it
was probably two years later, I bought my
own suit.”
e “investment” wasn’t so much
about wearing the same costume as his
predecessors, but more about Brandt’s
commitment to embody the image chil-
dren hold of Santa Claus.
“I take what I do very seriously,”
Brandt explained. “I believe Santa needs
to look nice. I’ve made improvements to
the suit over the years because it’s impor-
tant to me and I try to add something
new each year. When you squat down
and the kids coming ying into your
arms, it’s so heartwarming.”
Yet as any parent knows, not all kids
are enamored with the jolly elf. Brandt
remembers a shy 3-year old boy who
clung to his mother during a function
at Skamania Lodge a few years ago. e
child was wary of Santa up close, no mat-
ter how hard Brandt worked to win him
over.
“I tried everything — talking to him
from a distance, squatting down and
talking to him,” Brandt said, laughing.
“But he followed me to another appear-
ance at the lodge and when I came out
of a banquet room, he tossed a cookie at
me. He wanted nothing to do with Santa,
but he made sure I got a cookie. He want-
ed me to have that.”
Brandt treasures the letters and
drawings he receives each year, but also
the moments of pleasure he brings to
adults. During slow times at the mu-
seum, he can o en be seen outside the
building on the sidewalk, ringing jingle
bells and extending Santa’s traditional
holiday greeting.
“I’ve got a booming voice,” he said.
“I’ve stood outside the museum and
yelled, ‘Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!’
and people blocks away turn around to
see where Santa is. I enjoy watching peo-
ple of all ages drive by and seeing their
faces light up when they see me. It’s not
just the kids. You feel like you’ve brought
a little joy to the adults too.”
SPOTLIGHT
continued on next page
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A right jolly elf
Santa Claus has been hearing Christmas wishes at the Gresham History Museum for more than a decade. OUTLOOK PHOTO: JIM CLARK