‘Columbus missed him this year.’ Where did the longtime Peachtree Mall Santa go?
Some of those letters to Santa Claus at Peachtree Mall in Columbus have a different kind of message this year.
For the past 14 years, first as a big sister and now as a mother, seeing her loved ones sit on Santa’s lap at the mall was a key part of the Christmas season for Ashley Copeland.
“He’s just very easy to speak to,” said Copeland, 33, an emergency room nurse. “The kids weren’t scared of him. … He’s very patient, very calm — just the perfect person to be Santa Claus.”
But this year, that wasn’t the same guy in that suit.
Rumors speculated that he had died or was sick. Copeland decided to find out the truth. She called the mall.
General manager TaVida Rice told her that the man the management team calls Santa John indeed is alive but didn’t feel up to making the long drive to Columbus this year.
Santa John lives in Indiana and this Christmas season is volunteering at a children’s hospital there, Rice told the Ledger-Enquirer.
Copeland reported the news about Santa John on Facebook. She encouraged folks to join her in writing a card to him, expressing gratitude for his years of spreading the Christmas spirit in Columbus. Rice said cards for Santa John can be dropped off at the mall’s office.
As of Christmas Eve morning, Rice said, 17 cards are at the mall and ready to be forwarded to Santa John.
Copeland said she told Santa John in her card, “Columbus missed him this year. We appreciate him. We hope he’s doing well and hope to see him next year if he can come.”
During his 14 Christmas seasons here, Rice estimated, Santa John has heard the wishes of more than 10,000 children.
“He really did make every family that stopped by very comfortable and feel special,” she said. “He took the time with all of them. He’s a very happy, positive man, always smiling.”
And when one of the mall staff members called Santa John to get his address so the cards can be sent to him, “it warmed his heart,” Rice said.
“We really appreciate people reaching out to us so we can let him know how much of an impact he’s made in the Columbus community,” she said. “I do believe us communicating how much people care about him will help him come back next year.”
