The letter from Virginia that inspired the wonderful reply that has been the proof that Santa Claus does really exist may have inspired a slightly different response from someone that grew up in Wadena. Being someone from Wadena, I have often told anyone that would listen why I absolutely know that there is a Santa Claus. And, this year, I have decided to share my experience with anyone that reads this post.

Please believe me when I say that I have no desire to try to match the wisdom and writing skill of the reply sent to Virginia those many years ago. I love Santa and he has been good to me. My purpose is to simply share the reason that I have always believed in Santa Claus – I knew him personally.

So, here we go! I KNOW THAT SANTA CLAUS IS REAL – BECAUSE HE PUT ON HIS SUIT IN OUR HOUSE EVERY CHRISTMAS EVE SO HE COULD SPREAD JOY AND CANDY AND TURKEYS TO THE GOOD PEOPLE OF WADENA – MY SANTA WAS ED GERNAND AND HE LIVED OUTSIDE OF WADENA WITH HIS WIFE HAZEL AND THEY WERE GOOD FRIENDS OF MY FOLKS. It is truly that simple.

Imagine a knock at the door and a nice older gentleman would come into our house with a box and some black boots. Ed was usually in overalls and his white hair was always trimmed nicely. He did not have a beard. He would be very jolly – just who he was – and he would change into his real Santa Suit – not just authentic but it was THE SANTA SUIT or so I believed then and still do. 

Magically he would have a wonderful white beard that did not hide but emphasized his great smile. The hat, coat, pants, gloves, and boots were just as natural and part of SANTA as you would expect. There was no cheap cotton trim or plastic belt – it was real leather – and his eyes twinkled and his beard did not sag below his chin – it was SANTA’s beard and so it was REAL. I did not see Ed in a Santa costume but was right there WITH THE REAL SANTA and it was so special – great to be the kid of Santa’s friends!

And the bells – oh, the bells – they were old, as old as SANTA – and they had a rich tone, not the cheap fake tone of some of the other bells that were supposed to be Santa’s bells – these were OUTSIDE LARGE NOISY AND DEEP-TONED REAL BELLS ON A REAL LEATHER STRAP WORN OVER HIS SHOULDER – I loved the bells. He kept them shiny, and you could see your reflection in them if you looked closely.

As a boy of 6 or 8 or 12 – it made no difference – this was my time with SANTA!

And then Dad and Santa would go out our back door and go to the Fire Truck so Santa could ride on the back as he was driven down the main street of Wadena to greet the many adults and kids who were waiting in the cold – standing on the main street – waving and smiling as they saw the Jolly Old Elf coming down the street with the Fire Truck lights flashing and the siren screaming to announce his entrance. To say it was exciting would not be close to how it felt – chills still run down my back as I remember that feeling – we were seeing SANTA CLAUS as he came to visit Wadena!

Small children would sometimes be fearful of this large man in red suit – and his laugh and HO HO HO would make them shy away. Older adults would be smiling and laughing and often saying Merry Christmas to Santa as if he needed to be reminded. I watched Pauline and Mabel and Betty smile wider than all the rest of the year as they watched this amazing visitor to our hometown. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that SANTA CLAUS was visiting Wadena and we were all in the presence of a legend.

The younger children got to set on Santa’s lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Everyone got a sack of real candy and fruit with no worry of unwrapped candy being harmful and no concern for calories or the environment. This was Christmas and a bag of candy with an apple was part of Christmas. That was simple.

And then, after quite some time, Dad would start the Fire Truck which was the signal that SANTA had to leave for his next stop – and then come back later when we were asleep to leave our presents. This old fellow was facing a very busy rest of his day. It was a smile and a tear on most faces as he waved goodbye to us from the back of the truck – standing tall and holding on with one hand – and the lights were flashing but the siren was not on for his leaving. That would be left for his next public visit.

BUT and please stay tuned – this was not the end of the event – in fact, so much excitement was still coming that no one left – and all eyes turned to the third story windows on the front of the Wadena Hardware. And here the story turns to legend and lore and possibly fable as there are so many different versions of the memories of what happened next after Santa’s visit to Wadena’s main street each and every year as long as I can remember.

The one fact that everyone agrees on is that the good merchants of Wadena were in the Christmas spirit and gave generously to those who came to see Santa. Most agree that in the early days the gift was a turkey – live some say – and that they were “launched” from the third story Hardware windows by volunteers so they could soar over the assembled people and be caught by the lucky recipients for their Christmas dinner. I have heard detailed accounts of the fun and joy of this annual event. I would say this is legend and may be true – at least I think so.

As we all know, because of the hilarious episode of “WKRP in Cincinnati” when Les Nessman the newsman from WKRP reported live on the air as the live turkeys were being dropped from a helicopter at the Christmas gathering at the local mall. He was describing the falling turkeys that you could hear hitting vehicles and windows.  As the station manager told us, “AS GOD IS MY WITNESS, I THOUGHT TURKEYS COULD THOUGTH NO FLY!!!!!!!!!” It was really funny and one of my all-time favorite TV memories.

So, back to the Wadena Turkey Drop/Launch/Handout – some describe it much as Les did his experience and others just say “yes” they remember it – and others look at you like you have totally lost your mind. Regardless, it is regarded as a fact by some that the WKRP episode was based on the events in Wadena. I would stand by that – but not too closely – I don’t know if they actually can fly.

And, as much as I know the following is much more lore than legend – I have decided to share a common “bunny trail” taken by a few Wadena natives as they tell this entire story to the few who will actually listen. I apologize and if small children are reading this, I would give them something else to do for at least a paragraph or two. There is no point in traumatizing young children with what might be FLIGHTS of fancy [that was almost too obvious even for me, but, hey!]. 

The added prologue to the Wadena Turkey Drop story is that the merchants realized that flying or launched or tossed live turkeys was somewhat risky and could be messy if not outright dangerous. No number of the drops is ever mentioned. But the replacement event was not necessarily messy but proved to be dangerous. Let’s just say that a 15-pound plastic-wrapped frozen turkey pitched from a third-story hardware building window is not easy to catch or avoid as it comes raining from the sky. But, why not try – after all, it is a free turkey – and even more after all, the frozen turkeys will not coat you with proof of their outright terror as the live ones were prone to do. Oh, what a mess. And stink, oh my. But that is only legend. Maybe true, maybe not.

So, there you have it. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and his name is Ed Gernand and he put on his suit in my house when I was growing up in Wadena. And that is the honest truth and I not only believe it to be true – but was actually there. I can still see his eyes twinkle and those bells, oh those bells, they were so shiny, and their tone was so deep . . .

Merry Christmas! And, ED, Merry Christmas to you!!