Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.
One of the most beloved figures of our winter holidays is Santa.
The legend of Santa can be traced back hundreds of years to St. Nicholas, a 4th century monk from Myra (near modern-day Turkey). During the Middle Ages, this saint's reputation for generosity and kindness extended to all parts of Europe, and the Dutch are credited with bringing the Sinterklaas traditions to New Amsterdam (now New York City) in the 1700s.
Nowadays at this time of year in almost any American town or city, you'll find Santa-themed decorations glowing in front yards, letters to Santa in local newspapers and Santa-shaped confections lining store shelves. You'll see live Santa figures ringing bells on street corners, ho-ho-ho-ing from floats in parades and sitting on gilded thrones in shopping malls. Most of all, thoughts of Santa fill the imaginations of untold numbers of hopeful children.
Around Monticello now, you're likely to see someone who loves to bring a humble version of the Santa spirit wherever he goes: Jackson Stevens. He has lived in Wacissa for 20 years and was for many years a long-haul truck driver. For most of that time, Stevens mainly spread Santa's cheer wherever his routes took him, wearing the signature fur-trimmed red suit on the job, waving as he rode and hearing the wishes of people young and old in towns across the U.S.
Stevens loves portraying Santa because of the reactions that come from children of all ages. One favorite memory concerns the positive effect he was able to have on one family he encountered in a mom-and-pop truck stop, where a child was acting out.
“She saw me,” he recalls, “and her eyes got silver-dollar big, and she immediately got quiet. I walked out of sight, and it was like flipping a switch. She was back to no good.”
Stevens tells how he had a chance to talk to the child's mom, without the girl present, and learned that the child was having a hard time with traveling and with jealousy over a new baby brother. After getting permission to talk to the child for a while, he recalls telling her how blessed she was to have a baby brother and about the responsibility of being the big sister who should set a good example.
“Before we got done, I had her laughing,” he tells. “She was cheerful getting back in the car, and I'm hoping I made a difference not only in her life but in the life of the rest of that trip for the family.”
In addition to portraying Santa informally throughout the season wherever he goes, Stevens also is invited to appear at some special events, such as Project Back Yard in Thomasville.
“We serve about 1,600 Thanksgiving meals,” he explains. “Most of them are delivered throughout the community, but we bring 200-300 people in, including some kids. At the end I come out dressed as Santa Claus – my version of it.”
Now that Stevens is retired from trucking and gets to be at home more, Jefferson County folks are getting to see more of this Santa in our community. For example, recently, Stevens became a bus driver for Jefferson County Schools, and students on his route get to see Santa every day! Drop by CowHaus most mornings, and you might find Santa sitting by the antique stove, sipping a cup of coffee.
For sure this Saturday, Dec. 9, you can see him at CowHaus on Courthouse Circle during Monticello's Second Saturday festivities, from 4 to 8 p.m.
Stevens says the biggest challenge of playing Santa is the difference between spoiling it and not spoiling it for the little kids.
When kids ask him “Are you Santa?” or something like that, he says he usually replies, “What do you think?”
“I don't want to lie to children,” he says. “I want to bring joy for the season, and for some that's difficult.”
He has observed that there are many families that don't want anything to do with Santa, while there are others that want to totally embrace it.
“I try very hard not to force Santa on anybody… I love the legends of St. Nicholas. I think he was a phenomenal person, and I try to bring that to light. St. Nicholas was a Christian. He was trying to glorify Jesus, so I'm trying to do that.”