‘Once I get the suit on, I don’t want to take it off. I want to ride around . . .’

He lives in the South Bay, not the North Pole. Instead of a reindeer-powered sleigh, he rides a vintage Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Yet Stanley Pachkoski is unmistakably the Claus Man. With his flowing chin whiskers, fiery red suit and a rumbling “Ho, Ho, Ho!” the 60-year-old Chula Vistan has brought the magic of Kris Kringle to hundreds of children over the years. He is ably assisted by his wife of 34 years, Hazel, who, in her green elf costume, makes sure Santa’s jingle bells are strategically placed and that each child gets a gift. Pachkoski, a retired ironworker, originally donned his red threads to entertain his granddaughters, but word of mouth soon took him to Christmas parties at hospitals, apartment complexes and service organizations. Sitting upon his velvet-swathed knee, a child can be assured that Pachkoski will lend an attentive ear and promise to do what he can--whether the child asks for a G.I. Joe doll or for the day his parents get back together again. Times staff writer Caroline Lemke interviewed the Pachkoskis and Bob Grieser photographed them.

Hazel: We go to office parties, home parties, churches, hospitals, wherever they want us we go. A lot of times, a mother will call and tell us something real good that the little boy or girl did, or something real bad. Last week, a woman called and wanted us to come to her little boy’s 6th birthday party. She told me he did real good in a spelling bee and also he had lost a tooth. Well, we brought this all out at the party, and the little fellow just couldn’t believe it. He pulled Stanley’s beard and everything, and he couldn’t believe that Santa knew all this. We were thrilled to do this.

Stanley: I talk to the children and ask them what they want. I ask them if they’ve been good, if they ate their vegetables and are they good to Mommy and Daddy, and do they keep their room clean. Then, I give them their gift, and we sing. We always sing a couple of Christmas songs.

Children are very attentive. Until they get their gift. I lose their interest after they get their gift. That’s why they don’t get their gift until I’m done. We sing and talk and tell stories, and I want to know about the children.

Hazel: Sometimes the children are afraid of him, so they come to me and sit on my lap and have their picture taken. They won’t go near him.

Stanley: Some of the children are too small to go near that big red suit. We work around it. Sometimes, Mommy will sit on Santa’s lap, holding the baby, and try to get a picture. There are a lot of pictures.

When the children see something like Santa Claus, they believe. At one of my granddaughter’s beauty pageants, I played Santa Claus. After I was through, I took my suit off and came back into the audience. I was sitting with my 4-year-old granddaughter, and this one older boy came by and said, “Hi, Santa!” My granddaughter said: “He’s not Santa.” The older boy insisted I was, and my granddaughter said: “Everyone thinks you’re Santa, Poppa. You know what you’re going to have to do? You’re going to have to shave your beard off.”

I’ve talked to some people; they say it’s a profession, you’ve got to be an actor to do this. I never looked at it that way. But once I get the suit on, I don’t want to take it off. I want to ride around or go see somebody. I don’t know what happens to me. The times we go to Candy Cane Lane (a lavishly decorated street in Chula Vista) were after jobs. I didn’t want to go home and take the suit off. I’d say: “Let’s go to Candy Cane Lane and walk around.”

As long as I’m able, I’ll do this. Even after it gets away from the grandchildren, I’ll still do this. It’s a wonderful feeling to see a child just opening the door and seeing you standing there. Their eyes get that big around.

Hazel: And the things they ask for. A little boy told us all he wanted for Christmas was to get his family back together. That boy was about 10 years old. You talk about it and choke up because that little kid had tears in his eyes. He looks right at Santa when he says it. Another little boy said: “Santa, all I want for Christmas is for my daddy to quit smoking.” One little boy said: “Santa, all I want is food.” You want to just reach out and hug them and love them and tell them: “OK, that’s what you’re going to have.”

Shirley: I say: “I’ll try my best. Santa will see what he can do.”