Bella Vista resident volunteers time to help Santa Claus
Sometimes Santa Claus needs a reliable helper for his busy personal appearance schedule, and Bella Vista resident Lloyd Schoomer has been helping Santa for 25 years.
He got started in Alaska where he was working alongside a group that gave away toys and appliances each year. That was when he put on his first red suit. Kids haven’t really changed much in the 25 years since he first heard their Christmas lists.
“Kids are kids,” he said about his young audience, “until the adults get a hold of them and bend their minds.”
“Barbies are always big,” he said. But he was surprised when an eight-year-old boy asked him for an AR15.
“I told him it wasn’t a good idea,” Schoomer said. Santa, Schoomer told the little boy, always has to check with mom first.
For the last four years, he’s visited with children at the Bella Vista Library. He is never paid for his appearances.
“The kids are always a kick,” he said. “One girl said she didn’t believe in Santa. So I let her tug on my beard and it’s a real beard. It’s a lot of fun, I enjoy it.”
But while Schoomer, the grandfather of 14, enjoys meeting all the children, it’s sometimes the adults that touch his heart.
Schoomer delivers Meals on Wheels and, at least once
in late December, he wears his red suit for deliveries.
“I guess when you see a tear come out of an old lady’s eye when you’re delivering meals, that’s kind of special. It brings them back their childhood.”
He also attends the Christmas Party at the senior center in Bentonville each year. Sometimes, elementary school kids are there at the same time singing carols.
Schoomer said his wife often accompanies him and takes a lot of photos. Just for fun, they dress up on Christmas Eve and walk around the Bentonville square.
“The kids are amazed,” he said. “It’s just a riot. I was surprised at how many people are out and about on Christmas Eve.”
“I enjoy the heck out it,” he said.