Frank Webb’s Aug. 10 letter in the Snoqualmie Valley Record

reminded me to write my thoughts about one of the quiet, soft-spoken giants of

the Valley. Asked about his special memory of being Santa during

Santa Train weekends, he recalled the young boy on his lap who whispered,

“How old are you, Santa?” His reply:

“Why, sonny, I’m as old as happiness!”

As Mrs. Santa, who leads the singing of holiday songs on Santa

Train, I’ve stood at the depot waiting-room door, watching him accommodate

the child/children, while the elf, his wife, would take a Polaroid picture.

He’d calm the anxious child by offering his chair to the mother, who would

hold the crying child on her lap, and he would stand behind them while the

elf snapped their picture.

In his letter of thanks and farewell, he apologized if he’d left any holes

in our fences. No holes in our fences Santa, just the space left when you

are not among us in the Valley. Come back often and know that you are loved

and missed by us.

Anne McCarthy

North Bend