Santa and His Sleigh—Coming to a Neighborhood Near You
With twinkling eyes and a snowy beard grown long over the last nine months, it’s easy to believe Santa lives inside Glenn Johnson. “When you’re holding a kid and your beard doesn’t pull off,” Johnson said, “they go, ‘it’s the real one!'”
When he was first asked to be Santa for the Holiday Light Tour, which is put on by the Tolland Fire Department, it came in the form of a letter by Assistant Fire Chief Doug Racicot. “I bought a real good Santa suit,” said Johnson, and the rest was, as they say, magic.
Racicot knew Johnson, who owns Morrison and Johnson Automotive in Tolland, also built race cars. In 2009, Racicot asked for advice about building a sleigh to lead the light tour, which has been going on since 2002.
“I asked Doug how the sleigh was going to be built and who was going to build it,” said Johnson. With no definitive answer, Johnson volunteered to do the part — as long as he could start the second week of November, after he got back from his team’s last race of the year in North Carolina.
Upon his return, Johnson, 56, quickly enlisted the help of his team in building the sleigh. “The guys bought an old camper trailer that you tow behind a car,” he said. They took the trailer apart until it was just a frame and wheels, proceeding to find the materials and parts to make it a suitable sleigh for a proper Santa.
“I spoke with Doug in November of ’09 and we finished December 5,” said Johnson. They were literally working until the last minute.”We needed it ready at 5 p.m. We finished at 4:15,” he said.
“It is definitely a team effort,” Johnson said, praising the hard work his drivers and members of the fire department contribute to making the sleigh a success. “This fire department is second to none,” he added. Johnson is working on becoming a member himself.
The full crew worked more than 300 hours on the sleigh. Johnson alone? worked on it for 122 hours. “I worked on it Monday through Friday from 6 p.m. to midnight, after I got off work at the shop,” he said.
Everything on the sleigh is handmade. Last year, Johnson had two reindeer attached to his sleigh. This year he has all nine steel lawn reindeer with silhouette lights affixed to the front of the sleigh.
Starting this Friday, Santa will be pulled by a tow truck during the Holiday Light Tour that goes through Tolland neighborhoods, behind the animated fire truck run by Firefighter/EMT Jeff Ruest.
“The last two weeks we completed all the animation on the truck and sleigh,” said Ruest, 29. On Black Friday, the team went to Willimantic’s Annual Torch Light Parade, where they took first place.
Johnson, who was not in the role of Santa at the time, was still so convincing to both children and adults on the side of the streets. “A parent on the side of the street said, ‘No, there’s the real Santa,'” Johnson said. “The Santa for the night must have been really upset with me.”
A lot of work also goes into preparing the animated truck that announces the arrival of Santa and the Holiday Light Tour. The truck normally takes two weeks to prepare, requiring 80-120 hours to perfect the lighting and programming. Just as with holiday lights for a home, additional lighting needs to be purchased and strands need replacing each year.
“Last year was the first time we did animation on it,” said Ruest. A computer-generated lighting system was purchased, complete with a song package that includes different versions of Jingle Bells and “Christmas Time is Here,” from the movie, A Charlie Brown Christmas.
The flashy lights coordinate with the music. “It’s crazy on the eyes,” said Ruest. “This year, we added a lot more lighting to the truck, so it will be a lot brighter and more animated. We definitely try to kick it up a notch each year.”
After the finishing touches are complete and everything is working properly, it’s lights…Santa…action.
A service vehicle leads the way with a siren announcing the Holiday Light Tour’s arrival to each neighborhood. Afterward, the animated truck with the music follows. Then a tow truck pulls Santa in on his sleigh.
“When people see us coming, they start jumping up and down,” said Johnson.
Santa will have a helper this year. A customer at the garage volunteered to be his elf. “She will be my ears to make sure I catch every child’s name,” said Johnson, who wears hearing aids. “I want to keep them believing in Santa as long as they can.”
Johnson volunteers the materials, as well as his time. The reward for him is watching the pleasure on people’s faces. “It doesn’t matter if you’re six or 86,” said Johnson. “If I can put a smile on their face, it’s priceless. You put Christmas back to where it should be for the kids.”
The tour will take place on six evenings over the next three weekends. Residents should log onto the Tolland Fire Department website for details on the routes and neighborhoods that will be visited on each of these evenings. Please also see the attached schedule for when the Holiday Tour will be in a neighborhood nearby.
“People can also track the progress of the tour using GPS,” said Ruest, which is very fitting for a modern-day Santa.
As he travels through town, Santa will also accept any new, unwrapped toys or gifts from residents who wish to donate to children in need. Gifts for children ages 10-15 are especially welcome.
Santa’s sleigh and the decorated fire truck will be on display Sunday, Dec. 19, 5 p.m.-8 p.m., at the Fire Training Center, 191 Merrow Rd. Santa will greet children, and parents will have the chance to take a picture of their child with Ol’ Kris Kringle himself.
Sources: Renee Canada/TollandPatch.com