Sisters get same photo with Santa each year
Every family has their holiday traditions, and the Bartoes continue theirs to this day even though they expected it to end a decade ago.
Michelle and Vince Bartoe of Rimersburg began dressing their three daughters alike on the Monday after Thanksgiving and taking them to Butler for a photo with Santa.
Fast forward 25 years, past weddings and the birth of grandchildren, and the “girls” are still doing it.
Michelle Bartoe, the architect of the annual photo, distributes the photos on a Christmas postcard to family, friends and customers at the Bradys Bend American Legion where she works.
“I usually get about 100 copies,” she said.
She explained that Vanessa Bartoe Morris, Victoria Bartoe Ganter and Veronica Bartoe, who are now 25, 23 and 20, would be dressed in identical outfits and taken to Butler for the photo.The trip would also kick off Bartoes' Christmas shopping.“I don't start Christmas until after Thanksgiving,” she said.As the girls aged, they became less enchanted with the idea of dressing alike and visiting Santa.
“There have been some Christmases where we're like 'This is the last time we're doing this,'” Bartoe said.She said deciding on a matching outfit each year was harder when the girls were teens, as two are girlie and one “is more like me, more of a blue jeans and sweatshirt person.”“We always said once one of them were married, we're going to stop, but I don't think we'll ever stop doing it because it's a tradition that we've grown to love,” Bartoe said.Vanessa Morris, the oldest of the three daughters, said her feelings about the tradition have gone back and forth over the years.“When I was younger, I thought it was stupid,” Morris said. “Then the older I got, the more I treasured the memories.”She said with marriages and children, the sisters are busy and find it difficult to schedule time together through the year.
“It's something we look forward to every year,” Morris said. “It' a chance to get together and shop and hang out.”The photograph has become something of a legend for those who know the Bartoes.“We still just keep doing it,” Morris said. “People would be disappointed if they didn't get their Christmas card with us on it.”She said it's also nice to have a record of the sisters' lives via a picture taken at the exact same time every year.This year, Morris will be three months pregnant when the photo is taken.“I'm not showing too much, but we'll have to find something that's not too tight around the waist,” she said.Asked if the sisters will still be getting their photo taken with Santa in their 80s, Morris answers quickly.“I don't know how we'll ever quit,” she said.
