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December 5, 1999
In the (St.) Nick of timeBy TONY ZIEBOL Journal Staff Writer NEW ULM -- Dan Roegiers first dressed up as Santa Claus when his son, Bruce, was 6 years old. "I ran up on the front porch of the house and looked into the picture window," Roegiers said. "He came out and said, 'Come on in Dad.'" Roegiers wasn't wearing gloves and the time, and his son recognized his father by the hair on his fingers. Now, about 36 years later, Roegiers still puts on the red and white suit of Old St. Nick at homes, banks and anywhere else he is wanted. Saturday, for the first time, he was at the Marktplatz Mall, placing children on his lap and asking them what they wanted for Christmas. Louise Ellingson of Courtland brought her sons Ryan, 5, and Erik, 11, who both had short answers to the ultimate question. "A racecar track," Ryan said. "Gameboy," Erik said. Abby Holtan, daughter of Deb Holtan of New Ulm, had a more mature response when asked what she wanted for Christmas. "Clothes," she said. "I'll have to talk to those Elves and see if they can make some pretty clothes for you," Santa said. Holtan's other kids, Maggie, 5, and Caleb, 3, had more typical responses, asking for toys. Emily Steffl, 4, daughter of Mary Steffl of New Ulm, had pictures to go with her wish list. She was carrying a handful of white pieces of paper with catalog cut-outs of what she wanted glued to them. Made by Emily in nursery school, some of the items included Barbie dolls and a pink watch. "That's a great idea," Santa said. The children visiting Santa didn't go home empty handed as they were given candy and coloring books. "You gotta have something while you walk around," said Santa, handing a little girl a sucker. Over the years, Roegiers has accumulated many fond memories of his time as Santa and loves talking with the children. "The greatest thing about this is the things that the kids say," he said, breaking into a story. "I said (to one little girl), 'Where did you get those pretty eyes?'" "She said, 'They comed with my face.' "I just thought that was the greatest." Except for the 1 p.m. start when Roegiers arrived, there were virtually no lines to wait for Santa. "It's early yet (in the shopping season)," he said. "There'll still be some shopping going on." Those who missed Santa Saturday will get another chance, as Roegiers will be visiting with children at the mall again today and also next weekend. Children also had a chance to meet Santa's German counterpart, St. Nicholas, when he visited New Ulm Junior High School later in the evening. St. Nicholas, in his red bishop's robes, handed out candy to good girls and boys, while his sooty assistant, Krumpus, had a sack full of coal and sticks ready for the bad children. As usual, a lot more candy was being handed out than sticks. In the German tradition, chidlren leave their shoes out on St. Nicholas Day, Dec. 6, and receive goodies, if they are good, or lumps of coal for the naughty ones.
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