Back in February of 2007, a delicious opportunity for a pun presented itself:
It was the day our Turkey Whirl ride arrived.
That first piece coming off the truck looked so cold.
Cold turkey.
Wondered if those guys were all daring each other to touch their tongue to it, a la Schwartz and the flagpole in A Christmas Story.
Matt, our controller (he's since been named a GM), couldn't wait to ride. The ride cycle on this "spinny" ride? The longer the better, he said.
Plucky fellow, our Matt.
I’ve teased Mrs. Koch that she’s a bit of a Forrest Gump.
No, she hasn’t suddenly become a ping-pong fanatic, but she’s taken part in a few moments of national importance.
This photo is from 1941, when she helped place the cornerstone for what is now the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial:
And today, in honor of Presidents Day, she shares a few memories with us:
There was all kinds of nasty (albeit seasonal) weather forecast for the early Tuesday morning this week.
Valentine's Day.
The one day every year when a red-inked letter in the mail is a good thing.
It was a sweet coincidence that Valentine's Day was the day we planned to move the original Santa Claus Post Office to join other historic buildings in town at the Santa Claus Museum site.
The post office was built in 1856. Since 1946, the outgrown 18' by 40' building has served as the House of Dolls (and, more recently, the Betsy Ross Doll Museum) here in the park.
A famous visitor dropped by in March of 1955:
Ronald Reagan was decades away from being our nation's 40th President back then, but he was already famous as an actor. In the above photo, he is flanked by Dan's grandfathers – Santa Jim Yellig and Louis J. Koch (the founder of Santa Claus Land).
Here's a video postcard of yesterday's move, as a dusting of snow didn't keep us from our appointed rounds:
We also have a moving video of last week's church relocation. Want to help us in this endeavor? Please check the Membership tab at http://SantaClausMuseum.org.
While cleaning out an old filing cabinet (you never know what you'll find!), we came across an old VHS tape.
Curious, we popped it into an old player to see what we had.
It's a Group Sales video, produced to help show area businesses what we had to offer.
The year was 1995: The Raven was brand new, Splashin' Safari was only in its third year.
Hope you enjoy the trip back in time:
Karen sent us a photo of her children, Derek and Elizabeth, who brought HoliDuck along with them on a cruise a few years ago. She included this note: "HoliDuck made the trip to Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Castaway Cay with us. Thanks for many wonderful memories."
When Nathan started posting photos of the town's 132-year-old church moving to its new home one-half mile away on the Santa Claus Museum's Facebook page, Sabine from Germany commented, "… in German we have a saying: 'carry the church around the village.'"
Indeed, Mrs. Koch's dream to carry the past into the future took flight yesterday.
The church's trip to its new home, nestled between the Santa Claus Museum and the newly-restored 1935 Santa statue, was a parade of sorts.
And a pilgrimage.
Nathan documented the trip in this moving video:
No, we're not marketing Mammoth Cake Pans.
And reviewers haven't issued any negative commentary regarding our new water coaster, either.
And no, the Greek god of shepherds hasn't added a new critter to his flock. (Although we do expect folks to flock to our new water coaster …)
What I'm talking about is camera movement. When it's side-to-side, it's called a "pan." (Up-and-down is a "tilt.")
Get a load of the long pan Nathan shot in our latest Mammoth video construction update:
