C.W.H. News

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Get ready to adjust your holiday stories: Santa doesn’t go to the North Pole to perfect that booming laugh. He lands his reindeer in Midland, Mich.

Home to the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School, Midland attracts Santas and Mrs. Clauses from around the globe to prepare for the holiday season. Forty hours of training is packed into three days in October, but as Santa School Dean Tom Valent explains, there are plenty of Christmas cookies to keep the Santas fueled up.

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It is with great sorrow that I announce the passing of my Mother, Gale, on Friday July 31,2009.

Gale was the daughter of Charles W. Howard, wife of Everett D. Bergeman, and Mother of Charles, Jane and Doug Bergeman.   She leaves two Grandchildren, Gale (her namesake) born to Charles and Carol Bergeman, and John, son to Doug and Penny Bergeman.

Visitation will be held at the Amigone Funeral Home in Clarence, NY on Wednesday August 5th from 2-4pm and 7-9pm.

Amigone Funeral Home

8440  Main St.

Clarence, NY 14221

Gale died of congestive heart failure.  She was cared for in her last days primarily by her Daughter Jane with the assistance of the Hospice House of Buffalo, NY.

Donations are welcomed:

The American Heart Association

The Hospice Foundation of WNY

225 Como Park Blvd.

Buffalo, NY 14227

The Hospice Foundation has a new program called Optimum Care for Heart and Lung patients.  This was the specific program that assisted Gale.  Having personally met some of the nurses who provided care during this time, I can honestly say that they provided gentle, caring, professional assistance to both my Mother and our Family during this difficult time.  We would whole-heartedly recommend this program to anyone suffering through a similar circumstance.

I have added a large collection of material in the Medina Toy Company section of the site.

I have a lot more to add, but the retouching of the images has taken a great deal longer than I anticipated.  The originals were, in some cases, dirty or some of the hand tinted colors were bleeding.

I hope you enjoy the end product of my efforts.

Regards,

Charles Bergeman

Forty two years ago on May 1, 1966, the “Dean of Santa Clauses” passed away in upstate western New York. Charles W. Howard was truly an American Original. The legacy and inspiration that he left behind in the “Santa World” may not be in a class by itself, but it does not take long to take role call.

Howard’s professional career is that of legend. He was born in the house that he would live in his entire life. The small town boy never left Albion, New York, except to venture out to be Santa. Howard first played Santa as a boy in a classroom play. As an adult he found himself asked to help a friend out and play Santa in a store front window in downtown Albion. This experience helped Howard’s urge to perfect the role of Santa Claus as much as he could. In his early career Howard caught the train next to his farm in Albion and commuted to Rochester, New York and then Buffalo, New York to be Santa in department stores. It was about this time he started to develop the idea for a “school” for Santas. Howard’s first school was in the fall of 1937.

Howard also appeared in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from 1948 through 1965. Oddly, he never worked as Santa in the New York City flagship store. From 1948-1964, Howard flew from New York City to
Kansas City, Missouri to be the Santa at the Macy’s store there. In 1965, his last Christmas season, Howard worked at Nieman Marcus in Dallas, Texas.

In the late 1940’s, Howard started to convert the three barns behind his house in to what became “Christmas Park.” This small amusement park became known all over the Northeastern United States. The park included the classroom and dressing rooms for the Santa Claus School.

Before using this facility, Howard taught his school in his living room of his house. (With some exceptions, Howard’s three session school held in Santa Claus, Indiana in 1938 and the schools held at the St. George Hotel in NYC after WWII.)

Student from all over came to Albion. Stores like J.L. Hudson’s in Detroit, Gimble’s in Philadelphia, Foley’s in Houston, and Dillard’s in Little Rock all sent students and executives to the school. Howard was even asked to go to Australia in 1965 to teach a special school there.

The contributions of Howard’s work are imbedded in the Santa Claus world today. One of Howard’s most memorable quotes sums it up… “To say there is no Santa Claus is the most erroneous statement in the world. Santa Claus is a thought that is passed from generation to generation. After time this thought takes on a human form. Maybe if all children and adults understand the symbolism of this thought we can actually attain Peace on Earth and good will to men everywhere.”

Thanks Charlie for passing on your thoughts.

Phillip L. Wenz
Santa from Santa’s Village

Thank you Phil, this is a wonderful account of Charlie’s Santa Career.