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his beard to roaiplotn his look
as Santa Ctaas. Pinkston said
he asaally waits until 10 aHa
aaWLIm SftIji lull
Nias aaiaia no nans ns joo at
the nail to pat on his beard
because the synthetic hair is
bet wad nakesithardte
breathe.
said 2-ysar-olds are usually ths most shy
clones
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By Sarah Baker
Assignment Reporter
Long lines of excited children wait in
the center court or the mall, sitting in
strollers or toddliq&around die duck vel
vet ropes, all of the£b eager for a few sec
onds with the man who knows whether
they have been naughty or nice in die past
"11 months.
With Christmas Eve only a few weeks
away, children know it is essential to tell
Santa Claus their want-lists to make sure
the proper gifts are under the tree on
Christmas morning.
But exactly who is that man behind the
long, white beard and red suit who patient
ly sits in the mall, listening to seemingly
; endless lists of toys and holding children,
some crying, on his knee for hours on
Old?
According to Jim Soucie, owner of
Treasure Photo, these men are not just
anyone.
7 “These are truly nice people, and they
really love to do this job,” Soucie said.
Treasure Photo, a nationwide compa
ny jthat employs more than 100 Santas,
puts their employees through vigorous
testing arid training before they are
allowed wear tfie red fuzzy suit.
Treasure Photo employs thoSantas at
both Oakview Mall and Westroads Mall in
Omaha.
“All of our Santas are tested fox drugs,
they go through background tests, and
they are put through a Santa School, so
they can learn how to act, and what to say
to die children,” he said.
Soucie said every Santa has different
techniques when talking to children and in
their costume appearance.
“About half of our Santas have real
beards, but some still wear the false ones
just for a better appearance,” he said.
“Most of pur Santas are veterans, it is rare
that we have to hire a new one because
they all love the job so much.”
Dan Brown, the Santa impostor at
Gateway Mall in Lincoln, said this was his
first year of putting on the suit
“I love the kids,” Brown said. “I basi
cally do this for the fun of it I love to see
the thrill in the kids. Some bring me
posters and lists of things they want It is
really enjoyable”
Brown said at Gateway Mall, Santa
makes about $6 per hour.
Brown has had some unusual experi
ences in his first year of playing St Nick.
“I have four kids of my own, and three
grandkids who are young,” Brown said.
“My grandkids came to see me and they
had no clue who was really behind the
Santa costume.”
Brown said dressing up as Santa is not
100 percent fun.
“This suit and beard are both awful
hot,” he said.
Michael Schawang, Santa at
Westroads Mall in Omaha, has been dress
ing up every year since 1981.
“If you are in this job for die money,
you are definitely in die wrong business,”
Schawang said.
Schawang has played the Shrine Santa
in previous years, and also plays Santa for
private parties.
“I’m the best,” Schawang said with a
smile.
Schwang has his own Santa suit, but he
said die mall provides him with one when
he is working there.
— He said hie sees about 50 to 80 children
every hour while working his shift at the
Westroads, depending on the day and
time. This averages to shout 500 children
P» day.
Schwang said his reason for dressing
up every year is simple.
“The main reason I do this is to see die
children smile.”