Home for the Holidays
Looks like Santa will be staying home this year, another victim of COVID-19 restrictions.
No, not the jolly old elf himself. He's still on schedule for his annual round-the-world trip on Christmas Eve.
But his countless “helpers” have found their appearances severely reduced during this era of social distancing.
Bob Hillberry, 88, of Butler has canceled his appearances as Santa for the first time in the 32 years he's been playing the jolly old elf.
Hillberry said he's nixed making his annual trips to Passavant Retirement Community in Zelienople and Concordia Lutheran Ministries in Jefferson Township.
In addition, his private appearances for photo opportunities have dried up this year because of infection fears.
“On Christmas Eve, I used to do 40 engagements, show up for pictures from 6 p.m. to midnight,” Hillberry said. “I'd go to Wexford, Valencia, Mars, Evans City.
“I never charged anything, but people would give me donations, stuff money in my glove,” he said.
“This year, nobody said anything. Nobody called me this year,” he said. “I don't think I will get any this close to Christmas.”
One of his colleagues, Vernon Foertsch of Butler, has canceled all his appearances as St. Nick except for a “drive-by” during Saxonburg's Light-Up Night.
“They are going to put me in a sleigh and put me on a truck and I'll ride through and wave,” Foertsch said.
Foertsch, who said last year he had booked 80 events from appearances at private parties and hospitals to home visits and photo opportunities, noted he's not taking any jobs this season.
“It's like this, I'm not doing anything this fall. I don't want to get anybody sick and I don't want to get sick also,” he said.
For Ron Brooks, 56, of Clinton Township, his booked appearances as Santa Claus dropped from 35 last year to 15 this year. But, he added, “people are calling up and canceling all the time.”
“I usually do private or corporate events. What I do is I am a singing Santa,” he said.
Brooks gets information about the children he is to visit from their parents and makes up a song incorporating the facts.
But this year, Brooks said people began calling up in the summer and canceling his singing Santa visits.
“I made a special mask for Santa,” he said, but to no avail.
COVID-19 has really been hitting Brooks hard, not just as Santa, but also in his other guises as the Easter Bunny and as a singing telegram deliverer.
“I've been unemployed since March. It's been an interesting year,” he said.
For Tom Harrison of Butler, who's a full-time seminary student when he's not putting in an appearance as Santa Claus, the pandemic has brought some changes.
For instance, his annual appearance at the Butler Area Public Library's Light Up Night will be done via Zoom rather than in person this year.
And a lot of other visits with children are done at Connoquenessing photo studio Always Remember, where the photos are put together to make a story in a photo album.
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Even the traditional Santa at the Clearview Mall, 101 Clearview Circle, has had to adjust to pandemic restrictions.Bobbi Pisor of Hilliards, the general manager of North Pole Photo, which has had the holiday Santa concession at the mall for the past 20 years, said there's no sitting on Santa's lap this year. He's behind a Plexiglas barrier.Pisor said there are stickers on the floor to maintain the proper distance. Young visitors sit in chairs in front of Santa's barrier to get their pictures taken and wear masks until just before the photos are snapped.Don McIlvain of Butler, who's been Santa for the past 11 years, said, “It's a shield. I'm sitting behind it. I'll bend down, so I'm in the photo.”Usually, there are three to five Santa “helpers” greeting the thousands of little ones streaming through during the holiday to see Santa, Pisor said, adding this recent weekend there were three.So, girls and boys who want to visit with Santa need to make an appointment for a Saturday before Christmas. Pet photo sessions are from 5 to 8 p.m. Dec. 14 and appointments are not necessary.
Santa's ringing in the holidays a little differently in Cranberry Township. This Saturday, emergency personnel will be escorting him through township parks.“Santa will be riding high atop one of our fire engines, where he will be waving to residents — from a safe social distance,” said Jerry Andree, Cranberry Township manager.The Jingle Bell Tour starts and ends at the Route 19 Cranberry Township volunteer fire station. It will also wind through Community, North Boundary and Graham parks.A full route map is on the Cranberry Township website.“We felt it was important to bring the holiday cheer to residents instead of them traditionally coming to us for many of our holiday programs,” Andree said.Many of Cranberry Township's usual holiday events — Cookies with Santa, Santa's First Stop, etc. — have been canceled.Between the trials imposed by the pandemic and the atmosphere of the holidays, Andree said township leaders want to help St. Nick “brighten up the day for many.”“Our residents are resilient folks and have come together to help slow the spread of COVID-19,” Andree said. “We wanted to share a bit of holiday cheer with them.”Santa's helpers all said this is just a temporary blip, and they will all be back next year when conditions warrant it.“COVID is not going to kill off Santa,” Brooks said.<i>Butler Eagle writer Samantha Beal contributed to this report.</i>
