Santa Claus is coming to town

FINDLAY — The Kiwanis Club of Findlay is ready to spread holiday cheer in downtown Findlay. Members are bringing Santa to his temporary residence in the lobby of St. Andrew's United Methodist Church, 120 W. Sandusky St., beginning Friday. Additional visits will be held from 6-8 p.m. Dec. 6, 13 and 20. For more than two decades, Kiwanis has been operating Santa's House. About 4,500-5,000 people visit annually, according to co-chair Pat Garlock. She said it slowed down after COVID but is now building back up again. Santa will see 900-1,000 children during his four stops here during the holidays. Parents, older siblings and grandparents attend as well. There will also be free wagon rides along Main Street, compliments of the club. Cookies and hot chocolate will be served each night, provided by We Serve. Coffee. Suzanne Crouch is the other co-chair of Kiwanis Santa's House. Each child receives a gift bag that includes a coloring book provided by Marbee Printing and Graphic Art, crayons from Friends Office, an 11-inch stuffed gingerbread person and a candy cane, Garlock said. Kiwanis Santa's House is one of the largest free events offered to the community each year. It is now coordinated the first night with the official downtown municipal tree lighting, where Christmas carols are sung, then Santa and the mayor of Findlay start the countdown of 3 ... 2 ... 1, and the tree is lit, she said. Families are encouraged to meet at Dorney Plaza at 6 p.m. Friday where the Findlay First Edition will perform Christmas carols. Afterward, Santa and the elves will walk over to the church. As far back as 1964, Santa has been making stops in Flag City. That year, he arrived by helicopter at the Findlay Village Mall. After spending the morning there greeting children, he made his way to Santa's House which was located at 311 S. Main St., escorted by then-Findlay Mayor John Sausser, majorettes, baton twirlers and the Shrine Clown unit calliope. Alpha Chi Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi took over Santa's House in 1972. The parades continued and the chapter also sponsored breakfast with Santa and Santa's House royalty. Alpha Chi became Laureate Beta Phi in 1993, and the sorority partnered with the Findlay Downtown Area Association to sponsor Santa's House. The location was moved to the Findlay Municipal Building in 1990. Prior to that, it was in an empty storefront in the downtown area. Garlock started helping when the sorority was still in charge and said that's when she "fell in love" with the project and volunteered every night it was open. One reason in particular that touched her was the night a woman brought in her three small children. After they sat on Santa's lap and received a special gift, the woman gathered them up and turned to leave when Garlock noticed that she had tears streaming down her face. She asked the woman is everything was okay. "Her response was 'Thank you so much, SO MUCH ... I can't afford to buy any gifts for me kids this year...and this is the only gift they will receive. I truly appreciate what you all have done for my family,'" Garlock recounted. She said it didn't take long to realize that there was a huge need in the community for this project. In 2000, the ladies of the sorority asked if Garlock would consider taking over the next year. She received permission from the Kiwanis Club's board of directors and was named the first official Kiwanis Santa's House chairman. She also asked for funds to upgrade the Christmas trees that were literally falling apart and to get some new decorations. The project received $2,000. Garlock went to Hobby Lobby and shared the story of Santa's House with the manager. The store agreed to let her buy anything she needed at 50% off the price. That year, she bought six trees, ornaments, 10,000 lights, ribbons and cotton batting for snow blankets. The club officially opened the Kiwanis Santa's House in 2001. It was held at the Findlay Municipal Building each Christmas until 2016 when the city needed to install necessary Homeland Security screening machines in the main lobby, which took up most of the space needed to set up Santa's House. "We were desperate to secure a new location for the event before November of 2016," Garlock said. Several club members were also members of St. Andrew's United Methodist Church, just across the street from the municipal building parking lot. Jeff Whitman, Howard McNish and Rick Kidwell spoke to the pastors at St. Andrew's. "We were extremely grateful when St. Andrew's Church offered us their beautiful new lobby as a permanent home for the Kiwanis Santa's House," she said. The church lobby is decorated with 10 Christmas trees. Garlock said one of the trees belongs to the church, but the club decorates it for them using Christian emblems that were handcrafted in needlepoint by ladies of the church. Themes for the trees have included gingerbread, woodland with a reindeer and whimsy trees. Santa himself sits in a big red velvet chair with a fireplace that was built by Garlock Brothers Construction and donated. Each child signs their name and hometown in Santa's Book of Good Boys and Girls. Garlock said that's how they keep track of how many gift bags they'll need next year. It also helps Visit Findlay with the number of people visiting from out of town. Last year, there were families from Indiana, New York, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Florida. Garlock said there were also little visitors from lots of towns in Ohio such as Lima, Cincinnati, Toledo and Pandora as well as all of the Hancock County area villages. Any leftover gift bags are shared with children at the City Mission, Open Arms Domestic Violence Shelter and Hope House. Sponsors of the wagon rides this year are A Team Cleaning, Tom Hiatt's Plumbing & Excavating, Fast Signs of Findlay, Guaranteed Rate, Keepsake Portraits, Berkshire Hathaway, Blanchard Valley Veterinary Clinic, Coldwell Banker, Flag City and Heavenly Pizza.