Albion group working on design for Santa House on Main Street
Group has raised $31K so far for project
Photo by Tom Rivers: The Albion Betterment Committee would like to have a Santa House on this vacant lot next to the First Presbyterian Church of Albion. The group has been given permission from the Village Board to work on the project, with the design needing approval from village officials.
ALBION – The Albion Betterment Committee is trying to finalize a design for a 600 square foot Santa House on Main Street.
The building is tentatively eyed to be 20 by 30 feet with a peaked roof. It would host visits by Santa and be used for other community events, said Natasha Wasuck, a member of the Betterment Committee. She is also president of the Albion Merchants Association and owner of the Lockstone events venue.
The Albion Betterment Committee showed photos of these Santa Houses during a meeting on Saturday at Hoag Library, looking for ideas and feedback from the public.
The house is planned for a vacant lot next to the First Presbyterian Church, on the north side. The site could include other amenities, possibly benches or Adirondack chairs, as well as a gazebo.
A plan will be presented to the Village Board for its approval. The board gave the ABC permission to work on the project.
The Betterment Committee has $22,000 in donations, plus a $9,000 grant, putting the total at $31,000. Wasusk said the entire project could be about $50,000, depending on how many amenities are included with the site.
The ABC welcomes donations to the project. For information on how to donate, contact ABC director Joe Gehl at jgehl@rochester.rr.com or mail the Albion Betterment Committee c/o Joe Gehl at 14487 Baker Road, Kent, NY 14477. Or the ABC can be contacted through Facebook messenger. Click here to be directed to the ABC Facebook page.
The Betterment Committee held an open house on Saturday at Hoag Library to get feedback and ideas on how the building and site should look.
The inside of the building will include space to meet Santa, and also will house a Santa’s sleigh and an original Charles Howard Santa suit.
Wasuck said the group would like to have the new Santa House up in time for the Strawberry Festival in June.
The Betterment Committee has worked for several years trying to celebrate the community’s Santa legacy. Last year the ABC completed a bronze statue resembling Charles Howard in a Santa suit. Howard ran a Santa School in the community from 1937 until 1966, and also operated Christmas Park. The school continues in his name, now in Midland, Mich.
The Betterment Committee also led the effort to have part of Route 31 in Albion named in honor of Howard, who was the Santa in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and also was featured in many prominent publications for his role teaching people to portray Santa.
The ABC also has put up “Believe” signs and welcome sign on Route 98 highlighting Albion as the home of Howard and the Santa School.
The Albion Betterment Committee is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Formed in 2004, its mission is to utilize Albion’s historic, environmental and human assets to improve the quality of life for residents of the area.
