Her son, a second-grader, had been caught using bad language at school.

"The mom said she was having trouble with her child being mouthy in school," Wilson said.

They devised a plan to counter the poor behavior. The lad proved a challenge, even for a veteran Santa impersonator, but Wilson was ready.

"That beard's fake," barked the boy as he defiantly approached Wilson, cloaked in his holiday alter ego.

But the youngster was shocked straight when Santa addressed his young friend by name.

"I said 'You and I need to have a little talk. I know what happened at school, and that you got your name on the board,' " Wilson said. "I knew what he wanted for Christmas. His response was, 'I can't believe you really know that.' "

The next day, Wilson got a call from the mom, who pelted him with praise.

The recollection is one of many precious stories Wilson tells from nearly 23 years of playing the jolly old elf.

"It's been probably one of the best things I've done in my life, having fun with the kids, and the adults, too," he said.

A mortician, Wilson, 35, and his wife, Shelly, own the Wilson Shields Funeral Home in Minneapolis.

During the holidays, he's busy playing Santa all over north-central Kansas.

"I like that kids feel like they're safe in talking to Santa Claus. In 20-plus years, I've heard more stories," Wilson said.

One of them "really hurt," he said, and still does today.

Wilson and a longtime adopted grandma, Mayree Mangus, were playing Santa and Mrs. Claus in the late 1990s on the Plaza in Kansas City.

The Christmas request from a little girl, age 5 or 6, still lingers.

"She wanted Santa to bring her a mommy and daddy who would not hit her, and a warm coat," Wilson recalled. "Her mom and dad weren't with her. The only thing I could get out of her was her first name. I was 19 and wished I could do more about it."

Children are so innocent and trusting, Wilson said. "I will never forget her little face, as long as I live."

Most of his recollections are uplifting and special, such as the little son of a soldier he spoke with in the 1990s, during Operation Desert Storm.

"He wanted his daddy to come home and all the other soldiers, too," Wilson said.

The cherished avocation was launched in 1987 when Wilson was a mere 13, when he bought a $21 suit at a store in Wichita, and played Santa for a classmate at the Delphos Attendance Center.

"To this day, she doesn't know it was me," Wilson said. "Her family was beyond poor. I always felt bad for her."

A couple of years later, he began playing Santa for brother, Ryan Wilson, who is 14 years younger than Todd.

By then, his Santa star was rising.

"It was leaking out around small town America that I had a Santa suit," Todd Wilson said.

By about 1989, he had upgraded to a $300 suit that was purchased from the Sears catalog.

"Through high school, I was averaging 10 to 13 gigs on Christmas eve," Wilson said.

The character has followed him through life. After graduating from Minneapolis High School in 1993, Wilson attended Colby Community College, where he continued playing the Santa during the holidays, charging $15 a visit.

"That was money I lived on when I was in college," Wilson said.

While attending mortuary school in Kansas City, Wilson played the part for several professors. Then in 1995, Mangus, who is today in her 90s, hand made matching suits that they debuted on the KC Plaza.

Santa jobs continued after graduating mortuary school in 1996. He worked in several communities before returning to Minneapolis in 2002.

Today, Wilson still charges for his services, but the proceeds are donated to charity.

He has continued to upgrade his costume. In 1997, he paid $1,200 for a custom-made suit. His beard and eyebrows are made of Chinese yak hair.

"I am very picky on my suits," Wilson said. "When I was young, I could always spot the bad Santas. I want to portray the best one possible."

Playing Santa is proud duty for Todd, said Shelly Wilson. In their 12 years of marriage, the spirit of Santa in a season of giving has been introduced to their sons, Landon, 8, and Reece, 4, who also visit Santa's house in Minneapolis.

"It's his way of anonymously giving back, seeing the joy on the faces, the surprise in children when he knows their names," Shelly Wilson said. "It's kind of like a hobby for him, and something that gives him great joy."

His favorite appointments are with clients he knows, which is why serving Minneapolis is most enjoyable.

"The fun thing about a small town is I know almost all the kids," Wilson said. "For those who are on the borderline of believing in Santa, it's interesting to see their reaction when you call them by name, and know something about them."

In addition to public performances, Wilson has played Santa for the same three Minneapolis families since high school, even traveling home when he lived elsewhere.

"He comes on Christmas eve, and brings a gift to all nine of our grandchildren and the adults," said Gretchen Cleveland. She and husband, Bruce, have three grown daughters, who are married with three children each. Wilson has been their Santa since 1989.

"He's always been a special person to our family," Gretchen Cleveland said. "I knew Todd when he was a small child. When he started playing Santa, we thought that would be a neat tradition to start in our family."

Those interactions with Santa have provided heirloom memories in the Cleveland family. During years when the Wilsons had conflicts and Todd couldn't visit on Christmas eve, the Cleveland grandchildren found a bag of gifts from Santa on their grandparents' front porch.

When grandson Austin Hamm was 7, he visited with Santa in downtown Minneapolis prior to Wilson's visit to the Clevelands' house.

"When we left, Austin looked up at me and said "Grandma, that is the real Santa. All of the others are just helpers.' "

Hamm, from Andover, is now 20.

Their granddaughter Ryann Alderson, 5, of Wamego, asked after a recent visit if Santa and God share information.

"She asked her mother, 'Will God tell Santa that I wasn't good a few times this year?' " Gretchen Cleveland said.

When granddaughter Tacy Pounds, 20, of Minneapolis, was in grade school, "she was looking for men that had white eyebrows," Gretchen recalled.

For the Wilson family, one discovery about five years ago, brought about a life lesson for Landon.

"I was busted," Todd Wilson said of the time Landon learned that Santa was also his father.

"It was kind of a hairy moment," Shelly Wilson said. "Landon couldn't understand why we would go along with something that wasn't truthful. We explained that it was a tradition and meant to help others, that God comes into children's lives in different ways."

Now, in the third grade, Landon remembers finding out.

"I just couldn't believe it, that my dad was Santa Claus. It wasn't really a joke. It was kind of a lie," Landon said. "It really got me when I found out."

But he quickly learned that Santa is a gift, "who wants to make children happy."

As he's gotten older, Landon has expressed interest in becoming a second generation Wilson Santa, starting another family tradition.

The current challenge is keeping the secret from Reece.

"It's hard to (not tell)," Landon said.

When little brother does find out, he said. "He'll think the same thing, that it was a lie, but he'll figure it out."

n Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by e-mail at tunruh@salina.com.

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sam says....
Todd you are a true blessing to our little town. Not just at christmas when you are being Santa Claus but all year long wih all the wonderful things you and Shelly do. Thank you so much, you are truly an important part of this community. And we appreciate you. Merry Christmas!
12/21/2009

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