By Amy Eddings
Though northwestern Ohio’s winters aren’t nearly as bitter as those at the North Pole, Ada’s resident Santa Claus has moved to Florida.
“I was making a Top Ten list of the things I won’t miss, and snow was No. 1, ice was No. 2 and wind was No. 3,” said Claus.
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Santa — who goes by Richard Gainey during the off-season — was driving to his and wife Becky’s new home near Jacksonville, Florida when the Ada Icon caught up with the jolly old elf.
He was not traveling incognito.
“I’m in a Prius, heading southbound on Interstate 75. I’ve got my Santa hat on and my red vest, and I’ve had several cars slow down and [their drivers] wave,” he said. “Seeing Santa almost always brings a smile to someone’s face."
Almost always?
You must forgive Santa for being so cautious. As Richard Gainey, he taught multimedia journalism for 26 years at Ohio Northern University before retiring this summer. He schooled aspiring journalists in fact-finding and accuracy. The professor would have raised a grey eyebrow at a story assuming Santa had universal appeal.
“Of the Top Ten things I’ll miss most, No. 1 is most of my colleagues, No. 2 is most of my students and No. 3 is shopping. Shopping is great in Ohio,” said Claus, who heads to Columbus to shop for Becky and their five cats when there’s nothing to his liking at his North Pole workshop.
Santa Claus’ pedagogical talents went beyond the ONU classroom. He said he uses his meet-n’-greet moments with kids, like the one last week at the Ada Public Library, to impart life lessons.
“Some children brought me three pages of things that they wanted. I’d have to tell them, ‘Christmas is more than getting, it’s giving,’” said Claus.
Though Santa Claus is timeless, Richard Gainey is 65 years old, a native of Jacksonville who, upon his return to Florida’s state capitol, will be moving closer to a mother, sister and brother. It’s also a return to the place where Gainey’s Santa side made his first appearance.
“About eight or 10 years ago, I bought a half-price [Santa] suit and wore it for the first time at a fundraiser for a spay-neuter clinic in Jacksonville,” he said. “It had the fake beard with it. My beard was short at the time. But I said, ‘I don’t think I’ll need this.’ I could see I was starting to look like Santa."
His self-assessment was borne out soon after, when a little child saw him out and about without his Santa suit on and said, “I sat on your lap just the other day."
Gainey was a member and past president of Buckeye Santas, a group of about 120 Santa Claus lookalikes in Ohio who get together ten times a year for lunch.
“We always have to eat at a place that’s all-you-can-eat,” said Santa Gainey, who’d have to put on at least 20 pounds to get that “little round belly" immortalized by poet Clement Clarke Moore. “And we don’t go to a place that serves cookies for dessert, because we get enough of them."
He said he hopes to connect with a similar fraternal organization, Palm Tree Santas, which describes itself as a group for Florida’s “Sandie” Clauses.
“I’ve got business cards printed and I’ve already got a meeting set next month with 10 Santas,” he said. “Us north Florida Santas have to get together."
