The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Elyria man takes on role of Santa Claus
Playing Santa for 15 years, Elyria resident Phil Richwalsky knows how to put smiles on the children’s faces.
Richwalsky, 68, is one of several men who play Santa Claus at Finwood Estates in Elyria, 799 North Abbe Road. The estate has been turned into a winter wonderland for children to come and see Richwalsky, also known as Santa.
Richwalsky is from Pennsylvania but retired in Elyria. He got this gig by word of mouth as a woman who plays bingo, with him knew the people at the Elyria Parks and Recreation Department.
After he applied, he was sent a questionnaire and a survey and then went in for an interview.
The role has stuck ever since.
“I worked for the government in California and worked for the Navy,” Richwalsky said. “And I worked on an island out to sea. Many Decembers I missed because I was working on the island.”
When he did have time off, he went and started the gig of Santa.
“I did it at the American Legion for the ‘kiddies’ for the Christmas party (in
Ventura, California),” he said.
And now he’s doing it for the “kiddies” here. His first night as Santa, Dec. 6., was a busy one. More than 870 children came to visit him.
The experience has been good, Richwalsky said. The children always ask him where the reindeer are, to which he replies that they are hanging out on the roof. Richwalsky talks to the children about what they have been up to, what they want, and most importantly if they are behaving. Most say they have been behaving.
“Once in a while you get one that says, ‘I’m trying,’” he laughed.
The smiles on the children’s faces are what makes Richwalsky do what he does.
“They brought me to tears last year,” he said. “I was doing it here and some woman brought a bunch of kids in. I had no idea where they were from. But the one girl, 12 years old, said all she wanted was a blanket.”
Richwalsky later found out that she had been homeless.
Despite learning what some of the children ask him for, he tries to make it fun and enjoyable for all the children who walk in.
“I wouldn’t do it otherwise,” he said. “If it was a pain, I’d hang it up by now.”
Many families also bring in their newborns to get a look at what Santa is all about. Richwalsky said a father handed his newborn to him and had the other two around him for a picture. When Richwalsky gave the newborn back, he or she was still sleeping soundly.
The cool thing about being Santa, he said, is learning about the latest toys. He joked that if he didn’t know them when he came in, he would certainly know when he left for the night.
“The girls are asking for the same stuff the boys are getting,” Richwalsky said. “They’re all into tablets and iPhones.”
The gifts that children are asking are different from what he asked for as a child.
“I was happy to get a bicycle, or a wagon or a sled,” he said.
Richwalsky loves the Christmas season, citing that his family was big on the season when he was young.
“Of course Dad was always working (and) we had to work around that,” he said. “It always fascinated me. My mother collected gifts all year. And she had a box in the attic — nobody touched it because that was mother’s gift box.”
Christmas dinner was also a big affair.
“We had family gatherings, we had large groups,” Richwalsky said. “My mother’s side I think had 11 kids and my dad’s had 13.”
Finwood Estate is open from 6-9 p.m. until Dec. 23.
Refreshments, including hot chocolate and cookies, will be there to enjoy during the visit. The outside lights will remain on until Jan. 2. But children who want to see Santa will have to come by Dec. 23 before he sets off to deliver gifts to the world.
Children visitors are given a candy cane and an activity pad when they come in.
Donations and nonperishable canned food donations are appreciated and the food items will be distributed at the Elyria Hospitality House.