Santa Claus is coming to town!

Downtown Raymond, Illinois. Photo courtesy of Nancy Weitekamp. 

Please enjoy tonight's encore presentation of the Throwback Thursday post, Santa Clause is coming to town, originally published in December, 2014.  

Raymond's Santa  -  Harold "Fats" Wagahoff

One of my favorite memories of growing up in Raymond is meeting Santa Claus on Main Street. He would come to town on a Saturday before Christmas, and dozens of children, many clutching their wish lists, would wait in line for what seemed like hours to talk to him and receive a small brown sack containing an orange, a peppermint stick, and two or three Hershey's Kisses. 

I remember one year in particular, standing in line shivering in my red wool coat with black trim. The general belief was that Santa always flew into Raymond and landed near the water tower (the old water tower along 48), but on this day, the line was buzzing with the news that Santa had been spotted coming out of the fire house. Someone's parents quickly let us know that Santa had stopped at the fire house on his way over from the water tower to warm up and "take care of his business" before greeting all of us. Of course we all eventually learned the truth about Santa, and found out that Santa was really Harold Wagahoff. And everyone agrees he was the best Santa ever.

A special thank you to Harold Wagahoff's granddaughter, Stella Merit Turner, for sharing the following article that appeared in the Montgomery County News on December 19, 1990: