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Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio,

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Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a

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Speaker 1: show that proves there's more than one way to make history.

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Speaker 1: I'm Gay Bluesier, and in this episode, we're kicking off

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Speaker 1: the holiday season a little early with a look at

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Speaker 1: a hallowed institution that's been hailed as the Harvard of

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Speaker 1: Santa Schools. The day was September twenty seventh, nineteen thirty seven,

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Speaker 1: the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School opened in Albion,

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Speaker 1: New York. Founded by its namesake, a local farmer and

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Speaker 1: department store Santa, the training school was the first of

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Speaker 1: its kind and is now the oldest continuously operated Santa

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Speaker 1: school in the world. Charles W. Howard was born in Albion,

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Speaker 1: New York, on June fifteenth, eighteen ninety six. His aptitude

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Speaker 1: for Santa like behavior first manifested at the age of seven,

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Speaker 1: when he started building wooden toys and furniture for friends

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Speaker 1: and neighbors. Then, a few years later, his mother gifted

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Speaker 1: him a Santa suit and a bearded mask to wear

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Speaker 1: in a school play. Charles later recalled that he didn't

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Speaker 1: like wearing this false face because it was more frightening

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Speaker 1: to the other children than his own, But aside from

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Speaker 1: the mask, he quite enjoyed playing the role of Santa,

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Speaker 1: and as he grew older and saw other men portraying

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Speaker 1: the character in local stores, he realized it could even

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Speaker 1: be his profession. With that goal in mind, he approached

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Speaker 1: the maryland Son Furniture store in downtown Albion and suggested

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Speaker 1: they hire him to be their Santa. The owners agreed,

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Speaker 1: and throughout that Christmas season, Charles dressed as Santa Claus

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Speaker 1: and built wooden toys in the storefront window, much to

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Speaker 1: the delight of the children who passed by. A few

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Speaker 1: years later, Charles des decided to take the next step

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Speaker 1: in his career as Santa by applying for the job

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Speaker 1: at McCurdy's department store in Rochester. He showed up at

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Speaker 1: the interview dressed in his Santa suit and was hired

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Speaker 1: on the spot. It was a long and early commute

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Speaker 1: from Albion to Rochester, but the gig proved to be

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Speaker 1: worth it. Charles's interactions with the visiting children gave him

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Speaker 1: a new appreciation for the character he portrayed and for

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Speaker 1: the importance Santa held in the kid's lives. The job

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Speaker 1: also made him curious to know more about the character,

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Speaker 1: and for the next several years, he poured over every

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Speaker 1: book he could find on the history and lore of

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Speaker 1: Santa Claus. However, as Charles's knowledge and love of the

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Speaker 1: character grew, he began to notice a disturbing trend among

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Speaker 1: his fellow Santa's. They didn't seem to share his passion

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Speaker 1: for the role, a fact evidenced by their unprofessional appearance

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Speaker 1: and conduct. Many wore suits and beards that were frayed

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Speaker 1: and ill fitting. Others returned from the breaks wreaking of

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Speaker 1: cigarettes or alcohol, and some were dismissive or downright rude

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Speaker 1: to the children who came to see them. Charles believed

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Speaker 1: these kids deserved a better class of Santa, and he

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Speaker 1: decided to make it his life's mission to ensure they

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Speaker 1: got it. With his wife's blessing, he converted their farmhouse

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Speaker 1: into the world's first Santa School and began teaching classes

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Speaker 1: on September twenty seventh, nineteen thirty seven. The inaugural class

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Speaker 1: consisted of just three students, a close family friend, a neighbor,

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Speaker 1: and a welder from New Jersey named Frederick Wise. Of

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Speaker 1: the three, Wise was the only one who actually paid

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Speaker 1: the fifteen dollars tuition, so it's only fair that he

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Speaker 1: be considered the school's first official graduate. The week long

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Speaker 1: courses were initially held in the Howard family living room,

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Speaker 1: but as time went on, Charles was able to retrofit

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Speaker 1: several barns and outbuildings on his property to provide more space.

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Speaker 1: He ended up needing it too, as enrollments steadily rose,

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Speaker 1: a long with the tuition fees. As word of his

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Speaker 1: peculiar training school began to spread, Charles was approached by

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Speaker 1: a Chicago grocery chain about offering some on site instruction

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Speaker 1: for their santas. He turned down the offer, though, and

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Speaker 1: many others like it, reasoning that Santa had originated in

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Speaker 1: the home and that it was best to keep him there.

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Speaker 1: The school's curriculum included all the makings of equality Chris Kringle,

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Speaker 1: including a crash course in Santa history and traditions, as

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Speaker 1: well as public relations and child psychology. It also included

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Speaker 1: hands on instruction for the care and maintenance of a

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Speaker 1: Santa suit, how to apply make up, and even how

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Speaker 1: to care for reindeer, just in case a kid should

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Speaker 1: ever ask If students didn't own a Santa suit of

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Speaker 1: their own, they could be fitted for a custom one

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Speaker 1: featuring rabbit fur and hand sown leather boots. A genuine

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Speaker 1: yak fur beard was also available, should an aspiring Santa

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Speaker 1: be unable to grow on himself. These tools of the

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Speaker 1: trade were lovingly made by Elizabeth Babcock, a local seamstress

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Speaker 1: and eventual inductee into the International Santa Claus Hall of

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Speaker 1: Fame and yes, that's a real thing. As interest in

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Speaker 1: the Santa program grew, Charles brought on other experts to

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Speaker 1: bolster the curriculum. Ed Butters, for example, was the school's

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Speaker 1: authority on reindeer tending, and retired showman Charles Hood was

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Speaker 1: hired to teach the students how to act like Santa,

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Speaker 1: including holly jolly body language and how to ho ho

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Speaker 1: ho like a pro. The school held classes each fall,

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Speaker 1: just ahead of the Christmas season, which meant that Charles

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Speaker 1: was free to continue playing Santa himself. Every year from

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Speaker 1: nineteen forty four to nineteen forty seven, he donned the

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Speaker 1: red suit for the Adam Meldrum and Anderson department store

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Speaker 1: in Buffalo. They were lucky to have him too. As

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Speaker 1: Charles's reputation as a top tier Santa put his services

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Speaker 1: in high demand. For instance, he served as a Santa

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Speaker 1: consultant for the classic film Miracle on thirty fourth Stree,

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Speaker 1: and in nineteen forty eight he was called up to

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Speaker 1: the big leagues to appear as Santa in the Macy's

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Speaker 1: Thanksgiving Day Parade. That was and still is the most

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Speaker 1: high profile Santa gig in the country, and it's one

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Speaker 1: that Charles Howard proudly filled all the way until nineteen

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Speaker 1: sixty five. Along the way, in the mid nineteen fifties,

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Speaker 1: Charles expanded his operation by converting his farm into a

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Speaker 1: full fledged holiday attraction, which he dubbed Christmas Park. The

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Speaker 1: homegrown theme park featured a train ride, a petting zoo

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Speaker 1: complete with reindeer, and of course, a chance to meet

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Speaker 1: Saint Nick in person. Other attractions included a wishing well,

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Speaker 1: a miniature Christmas village, the customary gift shop, and a

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Speaker 1: full scale model of Santa's sleigh. The venture was a

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Speaker 1: good source of revenue and holiday cheer, but it also

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Speaker 1: allowed Santa's in training to get some much needed practice

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Speaker 1: interacting with kids ahead of the big season. At its peak,

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Speaker 1: Charles Howard's crew, Smiths Park attracted up to eighty thousand

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Speaker 1: visitors each year. By the early nineteen sixties, however, attendance

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Speaker 1: had declined, and so too had Charles's health. The park

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Speaker 1: closed its doors in nineteen sixty five, and Charles passed

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Speaker 1: away just one year later. That could have easily marked

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Speaker 1: the end of his world famous Santa School, but by

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Speaker 1: that point his passion and dedication had won new followers

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Speaker 1: to the cause. Upon Charles's death, the Santa School was

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Speaker 1: purchased by Nate and Mary Ida Done, a pair of

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Speaker 1: beloved Santa's in their own right. The couple moved the

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Speaker 1: school to Bay City, Michigan, but they kept the same name, curriculum,

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Speaker 1: and high standards of its founder. Nearly twenty years later,

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Speaker 1: the Dones sold the school to yet another Santa loving couple,

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Speaker 1: current owners Tom and Holly Vallant, who now operate the

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Speaker 1: school in Midland, Michigan. Both Tom and Holly had visited

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Speaker 1: Christmas Park as children, and the lasting effect it had

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Speaker 1: on their lives is a true testament to the joy

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Speaker 1: and meaning that Charles Howard created through his work. To

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Speaker 1: this day, several hundred eager Santas and a few Missus

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Speaker 1: Clauses attend the c w H. Santa School each year.

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Speaker 1: The intensive three day course runs every October and registration

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Speaker 1: is open year round. A word of warning, though, for

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Speaker 1: all you prospective Santa's out there, not everyone who applies

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Speaker 1: is accepted. There's usually a wait list about forty people long,

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Speaker 1: and some applicants are rejected outright if their hearts don't

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Speaker 1: seem to be in it. Your best bet for admittance, then,

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Speaker 1: is to channel the school's founder, a man who embodied

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Speaker 1: the spirit of Christmas in his daily life. To Charles Howard,

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Speaker 1: Santa Claus wasn't a cartoon or a clown or a

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Speaker 1: tool of commerce. He was a symbol of the kindest,

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Speaker 1: purest parts of human nature. To say there is no

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Speaker 1: Santa Claus, he once wrote, is the most erroneous statement

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Speaker 1: in the world. Santa Claus is a thought that is

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Speaker 1: passed from generation to generation. After time, this thought takes

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Speaker 1: on a human form, and maybe if all children and

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Speaker 1: adults understand the symbolism of this thought, we can actually

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Speaker 1: attain peace on earth and goodwill to men everywhere. For

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Speaker 1: he airs who think Santa enters through the chimney. Santa

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Speaker 1: enters through the heart. I'm Gay Bluesier and hopefully you

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Speaker 1: now know a little more about history today than you

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Speaker 1: did yesterday. You can learn even more about history by

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Speaker 1: following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show,

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Speaker 1: and if you have any comments or suggestions you'd like

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Speaker 1: to share, you can only send them my way by

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Speaker 1: writing to this day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to

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Speaker 1: Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thanks to you

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Speaker 1: for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow for

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Speaker 1: another day in History class. The printer put in the pot.

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Speaker 1: The