CLEARFIELD – For 44 years, children in Clearfield have looked atop a hill in awe of Santa riding in his sleigh, led by his team of faithful reindeer on his way to bring joy to little girls and boys all around the world.
Santa’s appearance on the hill overlooking Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub began as most of these things do, with a simple idea that needed a creative solution.
Jack Ricotta, who owns the property which includes the top of that hill, said his wife wanted to put a pumpkin out on the porch of their new home for people to see. The only problem was, there was no way anyone would actually see it.
So, Ricotta took it a step further. He got some plywood, painted a jack-o-lantern on it, and set it up so that people passing by below could see its grin.
The response was surprising, he said. Not only did people love it, they started asking what he was going to do for Christmas.
He hadn’t really thought about doing anything for Christmas, but then decided that he’d bring Santa Claus to town.
At that time, he said, his son was three-years-old and they would read him a storybook about Santa, which the boy loved.
It seemed logical to bring Santa to life, and so he was off to the hardware store again for more plywood and paint, and soon Santa’s sleigh and reindeer were on their way, including a bright red light bulb for Rudolph’s nose.
Sharp-eyed residents will probably recall that the original sleigh had only two deer, but before long two more were added.
A few months after Santa made his debut, the Easter Bunny arrived for his season in the Spring.
Ricotta says Santa himself is eight feet by eight feet, and the reindeer are each the size of a sheet of plywood.
The originals stood the test of time for 39 years when he decided they were a little too worn to continue, so he purchased more plywood and traced the originals so that he had an exact duplicate, which now graces the hill.
Unfortunately, over the years Santa and his friend Jack have had some problems.
Ricotta said he stopped trying to put a pumpkin up because of vandalism. The display was damaged numerous times, including by fire.
He had a snowman with Santa, but the snowman was stolen. He’s also had bulbs stolen and other issues, but for the most part, Santa and E.B. (that is, Easter Bunny) have been left alone.
“Everyone likes it, so we still put it up,” he said, adding that it’s a lot of hard work, but worth it for the smiles from children.
His own three are adults now, but they still look forward to seeing Santa on their hill, and his two grandchildren, who are 14 and 15, love him too.
Ricotta said, “People tell me they know it’s Christmastime when they see the Santa go up.”
And despite the work involved, Santa intends to make his appearance yearly for as long as he can.
