It’s not easy being Santa this time of year.
Just ask Herman Wisneski. The 71-year-old from Fort Ripley makes it an annual Christmas tradition of bringing Kris Kringle to life, and he’s in demand most years.
“I’m Santa — let’s put it that way — all right?” Wisneski said with his long white beard. “When I put on that red suit, I’m Santa. … You get a chance to make a difference in a young person’s life.”
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The coronavirus pandemic, however, makes embodying the beloved gift-giver more difficult this year; Wisneski wants to share the joy of the holiday season with others — not the coronavirus.
He worked as a tax auditor for the state of Minnesota for four decades before becoming better known to local children as the jolly ol’ man with the snow-white hair and iconic red-and-white suit.
“My late wife had long white hair, so we started playing Santa Claus for the Brainerd Elks for their Christmas party way back, oh, I’d say 20 years ago, maybe a little longer. And people started asking me if I’d be willing to come over to their house to play Santa Claus,” he said.
He is a board member of the Minnesota Elks Youth Camp and treasurer of the Brainerd Elks Lodge No. 615. The Brainerd Elks has had five state presidents, including Wisneski in 2009.
He has made appearances at Cub Foods in character — reading to children, having his photo taken with them, listening to them as they share their wish lists — but because of COVID-19 he has had to make some adjustments at events, such as talking to children through car windows.
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The presents kids tell Santa they want are as varied as the children themselves.
“I had a young man a couple of years ago … who looked at me and sat on my lap, and I said, ‘What do you want for Christmas?’” he recalled. “‘My dad home.’ His dad was deployed in Afghanistan. This little kid for Christmas wants his dad home.”
“An eye doctor who’s retired now gave me some Johnson & Johnson eye patches, and I said ‘What are these for?’ When they ask for an iPad, just give them one of these,” he said. “Or to a young kid wanting a laptop … I said there’s your laptop. ... You’re on my lap and you’re on top.”
He made a video Friday, Dec. 11, at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Baxter for a second-grade class to watch because COVID-19 precluded him from appearing to students in person.
“Santa Claus will be talking about what’s going on in the world and COVID and everything else and making sure they know that Christmas is coming — and that I’ll be there — and then I’m going to read them ‘‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,’” he said. “Now that might not seem like a lot to an adult, but to a little kid it might mean a hell of a lot.”
Wisneski said he does not charge for his appearances as St. Nick. And he said he has not appeared in the past at sites such at the Westgate Mall, which typically hosts Santa for a visit and a photo opportunity.
“As of right now we are not having Santa. We are still trying to find someone,” said Nicki Martineau, national marketing manager for Lexington Realty International, a national real estate firm whose properties include the Westgate Mall.
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Wisneski said when he does appear as Father Christmas this year, he wears a face mask and keeps 6 feet apart from others to slow the spread or transmission of the coronavirus. He also said he has a lot fewer engagement or bookings this year because of the rise in COVID-19 cases.
“When you had kids sitting on your lap and you asked them what they wanted for Christmas, they’d whisper it in your ear, but they can’t do that when you’re 4 or 5 feet away, you know?” he said of social distancing. “And to see the look in a kid’s eye, that’s what I’ll miss a lot.”
FRANK LEE may be reached at 218-855-5863 or at frank.lee@brainerddispatch.com . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DispatchFL .
