PHILIPSBURG – The giant Santa Claus displayed by the Cold Stream Dam in Philipsburg has been around since 1962. Well, it is not exactly the same one. In fact, the version seen this year is the second remake.
Last year, a wind storm broke Santa off the poles and “accordioned” it, explained Jay Herrington of the Philipsburg Elks who has worked on it for years, starting when it was stored in the Dahlgren Funeral Home in the 1990’s.
Herrington who was working at the funeral home at the time, helped the original artist, Billy Adams restore it.
“He would not let me paint the front. I could only do the back.”
The Santa you see this year is brand new. His bag was repainted and the toy soldiers that stand with him were actually redone two years ago.
If you have seen it already, you may not have noticed a difference.
“We took the old pieces and traced them,” Herrington said of the group that came together to rebuild it.
(20 years ago, they also recreated it by tracing the original.)
As people started suggesting artists to Herrington to work on it this time around, he replied, “We don’t need an artist. We need a copy cat.”
Herrington said they wanted everything to be the same, down to the exact color.
Among the people working on it was David Eyerly who did a lot of the “leg work” and organized the work sessions.
David talked to different companies asking them to either donate the supplies or give them a discount on the price.
“We saved a lot, but we still need money,” Herrington said.
The funds are needed for a trailer and garage to move and store the display so they only have to move it once, “which will mean it will last longer,” Herrington explained.
Donations can be sent to the Philipsburg Elks, 200 Country Club Lane, Philipsburg, PA 16866, with a notation that it is for the Santa Claus Fund.
The work started in September with the pieces being cut out and it was finished early in November.
“We wanted to be done by the end of September but it took longer to get the materials.”
Jim Myers was the lead construction worker and the group was able to use his tractor to move the pieces in a large garage. Others involved were Tyler Walstrom of Rock & Ruthless Tattoo Parlor, Kate Hoover, Megan Orwick, Lezzer Lumber, Kephart’s Ace Hardware, Lee Industries and the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau.
Today Santa is held in place by telephone poles that replaced the previous three flagpoles that were broken in a wind storm a few years ago.
For the record, Santa is about 37 feet tall and the bag is 17 feet tall. It contains a wooden block with an “A” for Adams in it.
Herrington said at one point the teddy bear had Mickey Mouse ears on it, but these were painted over and became a hat. The scarf was added later.
There are six soldiers, each of which is nine feet high if you count their guns.
Of course, Harrington was among those who worked on the second version of the Santa in 2005.
Former PA State Representative Lynn Herman got a grant from the state to restore it at that point. Dave Spotts designed a new frame work and it was re-done “from the ground up”, Herrington said.
Joel Maguire, a sign artist at Penn State was essential in re-painting it.
“His expertise is why it looked like the original,” Herrington said.
The Elks were given an “Award of Excellence for Historic Preservation” from the Board of Governor’s Centre County Historical Society in 2008 for their work on the display.
The original was built in 1959 when Adams decided he wanted to do something special for Christmas. Encouraged by the other members of the American Legion in Philipsburg, he began to build the iconic Santa Claus in the basement of the Legion from plywood with 2×4 backing, according to Herrington. Adams chose to make it 37 feet tall because he graduated in 1937.
“It was built in sections and not put together, until it was put up, because it was so big,” Herrington said.
The giant Santa Claus, complete with a bag of toys and toy soldiers first appeared at the Legion in 1962. Originally his arm waved to those passing by.
The 2025 version should probably last 20 years,” Herrington stated, adding, “I probably won’t be involved with it being redone again!”
He did note that by working on it this year, he was passing on his knowledge to the younger generation.
“I think Santa will be around forever.”
