By SYDNEY KENT
The year was 1984, and the merchants group in downtown Bluffton was in need of a Santa for the Christmas season.
Lauren “Bud” Elzroth, an employee with Franklin Electric, was the first choice for the position; he had served as the designated Santa for the annual company Christmas party for years prior. Unfortunately, he wasn’t available.
His son, however, was up for the challenge — and the extra cash. Jeff Elzroth borrowed a Santa suit and agreed to the task. He didn’t know that “yes” would continue for the next 40 years and counting.
“I took it over that year so I had money to buy my kids presents for Christmas,” Elzroth explained. “I just loved it so much and I loved kids. So when they asked me to come back, I was like, ‘Sure thing.’”
With that, the money that Elzroth earned for Christmas was ultimately redirected to purchase a suit that would bring joy to the community. The community returned the favor. Over the past four decades, Elzroth has been an integral piece of countless Christmas memories.
“Years ago at Sonlight Church, I was in a play,” Elzroth recounted. “In the past, we would always go to the hospital on Christmas Eve to see if there were any kids to visit. If there were, we would find something to take up to them with permission. We’ve even had brand new deliveries — I’ve held a baby that was two hours old.”
Elzroth has donated time throughout his tenure as jolly Saint Nick at local day cares and the head start program. He has also delivered a wide variety of gifts.
“I have delivered a horse, guinea pig, cat, dog, a little bit of everything over the years,” Elzroth laughed. “And you know, we get your typical request for a million dollars. One request almost made me cry one year. There was a little girl, and her parents were fighting and getting divorced. She asked me if her parents could get back together. I told her there was probably nothing I could do, but I would say a prayer with her. And I did. Four years ago, we even did a marriage proposal.”
“This year, they will have three kids,” Amy Elzroth, the beloved Mrs. Claus for 12 years, added.
“When Amy and I met,” Elzroth said. “She agreed to do this with me, though she was very shy. We would go out to the middle school and Southern Wells in front of a couple hundred people.”
“I would hide behind him a little bit,” Amy smiled.
“She was a huge help,” Elzroth continued. “I told her she could do the pictures, and she said she wanted a suit. The kids would often come up and start screaming as soon as they saw me, and so they sat with her.”
The couple have five children and 19 grandchildren together. When the children were younger, Elzroth said he kept Santa a secret from them, just as his parents had done with him. As they aged, they became his helpers.
“All of my kids helped me uptown, they were my little elves,” Elzroth laughed. “They took pictures, collected money for me. (My daughter) Kira (Lee) was the best. A couple of my kids would come around for home visits with me and dress up like elves.”
“It’s been very fun having him be Santa my whole life,” Lee said. “I looked forward to helping with Santa’s workshop every year and riding downtown on the fire truck. I love seeing the repeat people every year and the new ones. He’s always been great with remembering names, which is always surprising for the kids. The best part is having him be Santa for my daughter now too.”
“Our grandkids don’t really know,” Elzroth added. “Our newest one doesn’t, but they’ve seen us, they always make a point to take a picture with us. That’s really special and that will be something they get to look at.”
From advances in photography to the fluctuating economy, Elzroth explained that the Santa experience has changed over the past four decades.
“People don’t hire Santa anymore,” Elzroth said. “COVID is when it seemed like everything changed, we didn’t do any bookings at all. I was afraid we would have spread it. It was the only time we ever missed Christmas. Up until then, I came to town on the firetruck and we had the lighting ceremony. Bluffton did away with the lighting ceremony after COVID. It’s really sad.”
Elzroth recalled an impactful donation he received the year he was forced to miss Christmas due to the virus.
“I cried when I saw the money,” Elzroth said. “It was from one of the families we have been going to for over 30 years. The year before, we had just bought new suits and everything and thought we would lose a lot of money.”
The Claus suits are made of velour, and cost approximately $1,200 each. Elzroth also has to replace the beard for the costume every few years. In between new beards, a local stylist at Hair By Design styles the beard.
“Easily thousands of dollars in investment in the suits alone, but do you know what people notice?” Elzroth quipped. “My wife’s nails.”
The Elzroth’s said that they plan to continue to fill the beloved roles for as long as they can.
“I will be 65 in a few months,” Elzroth said. “We’ve already slowed down. The regulars keep us coming back, families that we have done for decades. It’s kind of like our family too. We see who has arrived, who has passed away. One family gives us envelopes for the adults every year. They get their envelope, but they still have to sit on my lap and take a picture.”
Though Santa and Mrs. Claus are fully booked on Christmas Eve this year, they will be available from 1-3 p.m. today at the Family Farm and Home store.
sydney@news-banner.com
