The Real Santa of Miller & Rhoads: The Extraordinary Life of Bill Strother

by Donna Strother Deekens, Phillip L Wenz (Foreword by)

Overview

After the turn of the twentieth century, young Bill Strother left the tobacco farms of North Carolina to make a living climbing buildings. He became known as the "Human Spider," scaling countless structures across the nation. Yet this was just a prelude to his true calling as the Santa Claus at Richmond's famed Miller & Rhoads department store. As department stores everywhere reached their golden age, Strother became one of the most beloved and sought-after Santas in the nation. Author and former Miller & Rhoads Snow Queen Donna Strother Deekens recounts the amazing history of the Real Santa.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781625852267
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	05/10/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	165
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Donna Strother Deekens is owner of Teapots, Treats & Traditions. She has performed professionally as an actress, soloist, entertainer and public speaker. She played the role of a "Snow Queen" to the "Real Santa" from 1971 to 1989 at the Miller & Rhoads department store in Richmond, Virginia. She is the author of three books, "Christmas at Miller & Rhoads: Memoirs of a Snow Queen"; "Santaland: A Miller & Rhoads Christmas"; "Virginia's Legendary Santa Trains" (co-authored with Doug Riddell) and The Real Santa of Miller & Rhoads: The Extraordinary Life of Bill Strother . Phillip L. Wenz is one of the most well-known and revered professional Santa's in the nation. He is the longest tenured Santa in the history of the Santa's Village theme park in Dundee, Illinois. He has appeared in over forty Christmas parades, numerous TV shows, billboards, commercials, magazines and large corporate and civic holiday events in some of the nation's largest cities. As an author he is considered the leading authority and historian on the Santa Claus legend, history and folklore.

Table of Contents

Foreword Phillip L. Wenz 11

Acknowledgements 17

Introduction: "I Believe!" 19

I Setting "High" Standards

1 Young Carey 31

2 Hanging Out: "Buildering" 39

3 '"Will You Walk Into My Parlor?' Said the Spider to the Fly…" 43

4 Climbing for the War Effort…and Beyond 57

5 "O Canada!": A Thrill Ride for Our Neighbor to the North 81

6 Climbing Toward an Unexpected Hollywood Moment 89

7 Falling in Love…but Able to Leap Tall Buildings No More! 103

8 "Buddy Can You Spare a Dime?" 107

9 Heading "Back East" 109

II "Santa Magic!"

10 The Man Who Would Be Santa Claus 113

11 End of an Era, but the Tradition lives On 179

Album of the Real Santa of Miller & Rhoads, Santa Bill Strother and Children of Yesteryear 185

Notes 199

About the Author 205