Santa’s House sporting a new look for the holiday season
Santa and his staff may have been preparing for months for the Christmas season, but this year he has gotten a little extra help from a group of 14 New Philadelphia art club students. For decades, the city’s square has hosted a house for Santa to stop by for an occasional visit, but the little house had become rather timeworn and dated.
“When we were doing the new decorations downtown, we saw that Santa’s House had not been painted in a number of years,” noted Diane Lautenschleger, who heads up the New Philadelphia Business and Community Association. “I knew that when we needed Santa’s House painted, my first contact would be with the school’s art department. The New Philadelphia high school art department was so totally wonderful and awesome to work with. The association really appreciates them. We have a strong relationship with the New Philadelphia City Schools and superintendent Bob Alsept. A strong school system benefits a strong business community, and vice versa.”
Where is the Santa House kept during the off season?
“At the North Pole, of course!” laughed Lautenschleger. “Actually, it resides in the city garage. The administration was great, and located a safe place for the city to drop off the house where students could paint it and keep it safe. I can only say huge praise for the school. We supplied the paint with money from our Christmas decoration fund, and the students volunteered their time.”
New Philadelphia Mayor Mike Taylor agreed with the association director in expressing his own appreciation for the work of the students. “I would like to thank the New Philadelphia art club students and Harley Sefert for their efforts in refurbishing the Santa House on the New Philadelphia square. Their volunteer efforts are appreciated for their time and creativity,” he stated.
“This is the first service project we’ve done this year,” said Emma Weaver, 17, who is part of the high school art club. “They contacted Miss Stephanie Petranek, the high school art teacher and our club advisor, and asked if we could repaint the Santa House and fix it up, and also change it a little.” She noted that students were quick to volunteer for the project.
“It was completely different, and wasn’t really in very good shape. It had painted cartoon characters on it, so we completely changed the style of it. We repainted it tan, and then we gave it a brick effect, and added windows with frames, flower boxes, wreaths, and topiaries,” added Weaver, whose artistic contributions to the community also recently resulted in the honor of having her artwork featured on new library cards at the Tuscarawas County Library.
The students worked after school on Tuesdays, as well as on several Saturdays to complete the project.
“We were going for a look that reflected the beautiful architecture that we have in the downtown area. Santa has always resided in the red house, but we realized that he wanted a new look. Santa is now residing in what we can recognize as a heritage home in New Philadelphia,” said Lautenschleger, noting that the jolly elf might be spending more time at the house in years to come. “By and large, children don’t usually spot Santa Claus, but we hope to potentially have a live Santa there in the future. Right now, Santa Claus is all over the world, busy checking on all the good boys and girls.”
The art club also repainted Santa’s Mailbox on the square as part of their endeavor. Every child’s letter mailed there is sure to get a response.
“Every letter that is placed in the mailbox on the square will be answered by Santa,” noted Lautenschleger. “We have fantastic elves that work throughout the community to make sure that all the letters are answered by Christmas.”
“When we were doing the new decorations downtown, we saw that Santa’s House had not been painted in a number of years,” noted Diane Lautenschleger, who heads up the New Philadelphia Business and Community Association. “I knew that when we needed Santa’s House painted, my first contact would be with the school’s art department. The New Philadelphia high school art department was so totally wonderful and awesome to work with. The association really appreciates them. We have a strong relationship with the New Philadelphia City Schools and superintendent Bob Alsept. A strong school system benefits a strong business community, and vice versa.”
Where is the Santa House kept during the off season?
“At the North Pole, of course!” laughed Lautenschleger. “Actually, it resides in the city garage. The administration was great, and located a safe place for the city to drop off the house where students could paint it and keep it safe. I can only say huge praise for the school. We supplied the paint with money from our Christmas decoration fund, and the students volunteered their time.”
New Philadelphia Mayor Mike Taylor agreed with the association director in expressing his own appreciation for the work of the students. “I would like to thank the New Philadelphia art club students and Harley Sefert for their efforts in refurbishing the Santa House on the New Philadelphia square. Their volunteer efforts are appreciated for their time and creativity,” he stated.
“This is the first service project we’ve done this year,” said Emma Weaver, 17, who is part of the high school art club. “They contacted Miss Stephanie Petranek, the high school art teacher and our club advisor, and asked if we could repaint the Santa House and fix it up, and also change it a little.” She noted that students were quick to volunteer for the project.
“It was completely different, and wasn’t really in very good shape. It had painted cartoon characters on it, so we completely changed the style of it. We repainted it tan, and then we gave it a brick effect, and added windows with frames, flower boxes, wreaths, and topiaries,” added Weaver, whose artistic contributions to the community also recently resulted in the honor of having her artwork featured on new library cards at the Tuscarawas County Library.
The students worked after school on Tuesdays, as well as on several Saturdays to complete the project.
“We were going for a look that reflected the beautiful architecture that we have in the downtown area. Santa has always resided in the red house, but we realized that he wanted a new look. Santa is now residing in what we can recognize as a heritage home in New Philadelphia,” said Lautenschleger, noting that the jolly elf might be spending more time at the house in years to come. “By and large, children don’t usually spot Santa Claus, but we hope to potentially have a live Santa there in the future. Right now, Santa Claus is all over the world, busy checking on all the good boys and girls.”
The art club also repainted Santa’s Mailbox on the square as part of their endeavor. Every child’s letter mailed there is sure to get a response.
“Every letter that is placed in the mailbox on the square will be answered by Santa,” noted Lautenschleger. “We have fantastic elves that work throughout the community to make sure that all the letters are answered by Christmas.”
Published: November 28, 2011
