Get to know Bigfork: Santa Claus

As is his tradition, Santa Claus donned

one of his red suits and came to town for Bigfork’s annual Magical

Holiday Parade the first weekend of December and has been spotted

around the Village since.

What some may not realize is that

Claus, in one of his many guises, goes undercover and spends time

in Bigfork throughout the year.

Masquerading as resident George

Wilcoxen, Claus is able to be everywhere fairly undetected,

watching people and loving them in more subtle ways throughout the

year.

He’s up early to move snow from the

streets of Bigfork and then goes to work full time at the Lake View

Care Center. He does odds and ends and maintenance work for those

who need it. He runs his own painting business. He picks up dog

poop. He’s not a member of any organizations, but he volunteers

with many of them.

Through wearing many hats in the

community, Claus is able to see and keep a weathered eye on

residents of all ages, but he’s also able to teach lessons by his

choices of work and the ways he cares during his offseason.

“I go out and I get involved,” he said.

“To be successful, I had to do all the things other people don’t

want to do. It wasn’t about the money. It was about doing a job

someone else wasn’t going to do.”

For Claus, service is an essential

component of his life. As a recent example, he joined Crossroads

Christian Fellowship, as Wilcoxen, on a trip to Browning for

Thanksgiving to serve food to about 100 people.

“If you think you have problems, go out

and serve,” he said. “Service is the best place to start... Have

you ever noticed when you volunteer how many of your own woes fade

away? That’s why Santa really appreciates all the elves, especially

the ones here in Bigfork.”

However, as he sees it, service should

not just be in volunteer positions — it should carry over into

individuals’ actual jobs.

“Attitude is everything,” he said.

“When you do a job for people, go back and give them something and

they’ll never forget you. I always try to give the extra.”

In spite of his service-minded attitude

and willingness to lend a hand, Claus is modest about his

investments and work in the community.

“I’m nothing compared to people I know

about,” he said.

For the man in red and white, one of

his most challenging and most gratifying positions during the rest

of the year is his work at the care center.

“Up there it’s very real,” he said.

“The activities are very sincere. A lot of people don’t have people

coming to see them. I know what it’s like to be lonely. I also know

what it’s like to have someone reach out and touch me. The littlest

things matter to them.”

It is the faith of those residents that

keeps his spirits up.

“They want to know Santa is coming,” he

said. “Every resident gets two or three gifts (during Christmas)

and it means the world to them... To me the greatest thing is to

have somebody trust you and believe in you.”

Claus takes his high-profile role in

the holiday season very seriously. It’s important to not disrupt

people’s belief, he said.

He’s had lines of more than 100

children waiting to see him, and times when he’s sat and waited for

two and half hours with no one coming. He sees the importance of

both instances.

“I sat diligently and waited,” he said

of his slow time. “If just one person comes, Santa has to be

ready.”

Claus has two Christmas suits hanging

in his closet that he’s had dry cleaned and waiting for December.

He’ll slip on his old-fashioned suit when he pays a visit to the

residents of the Lake View Care Center on Friday, and he wears a

more modern version when he visits with children and pets in

downtown Bigfork as he will this Saturday at the Bigfork

Station.

Claus looks forward to this time of

year because some of his most joy-filled Bigfork memories come from

the Village’s youngest and oldest residents.

“Have you ever noticed how the folks at

the Lake View Care Center look into Santa’s eyes with joy and

wonderment, just like the little ones that come to sit on Santa’s

lap,” he said. “For the true believers, the spirit never fades,

and, believe me, there are many believers.”

Sometimes that joy is discovered in a

shared moment not a gift. Claus recalls dancing with the late

Blanche Seccombe at the Lake View Care Center. From across the room

he could hear her whisper to her son that she wanted to dance with

Santa.

“I could hear each thing,” he said. “I

didn’t want to turn away. She stood up and we danced at the table.

She loved it, and, boy, I did too. When it’s personal, it means

something.”

His joy is also found when children

spend time on his lap, not asking for trains or puppies, but

talking with him and sharing their love for him.

“Most of the time, and thanks to the

child’s timidity, we don’t discuss a list of wants,” he said. “We

share precious moments, just looking at each other, getting a name.

Then Santa talks about being good to people, listening to parents

and teachers and being good so the elves will give Santa a great

report for next year. After all, moms and dads can send your list

to the North Pole where the elves are working diligently.”

It is that spirit and faith of the

young and old that Claus wishes all could grab hold of.

“Nothing is more precious than when

people walk away knowing Santa cares about them. It gives hope,” he

said. “Only love endures.”

In return for the gift of individuals’

belief, Claus spends time pondering over every person big or small

and how he can impact them.

“I wonder what I can do as Santa Claus

to make that person feel better and to touch them just by caring

for them and loving them,” he said.

During his early life, Claus

experienced his share of hardships. He said at times he found it

difficult to give and to celebrate the Christmas season, a time of

year he found lonely, until he learned the lessons that he later

came to impart to others.

“Until I could receive graciously, I

couldn’t give graciously,” he said.

Undergoing that transformation, Claus

realized that giving didn’t have to be about the money spent or the

size of the gift.

“You know, it’s really easy to use our

credit cards and send off gifts, but can we receive graciously?” he

said. “Just think how good the giver must feel when you or I

receive graciously... It’s not the idea of how much the gift costs

— it’s about being loved, it’s about a new future. Belief in the

spirit of Christmas and giving and receiving gives you a future, a

hope for tomorrow.”

That’s why Claus points out that

powerful gifts can be found in a note, a hug or meeting for

coffee.

“It doesn’t have to be a big gift —

just the simplest of simple. The real intimate thing is just to sit

down and give of your time,” he said. “There are lots of lonely

people, especially at the holidays.”

It’s that lesson of giving and of

caring that Claus says is the reason for the season.

“Jesus’ story is bigger than Santa’s,

yet the deep meanings correlate. Santa isn’t just a jolly old elf,

but he cares about you, he loves you and he wants you to reach out

and not be lonely,” he said.

And that’s why Claus gets out his suits

each December.

“I knew I could bring happiness into

someone’s life by making something as big and important as (my role

as) Santa totally accessible to the rich and poor,” he said. “Yes,

anyone and everyone deserves the experience of giving, loving and

receiving too.”