Did you know we used to have a water-ski show? It was a long time ago. Sixty years, actually. It was called the Willie Bartley Water Ski Show and was performed on Lake Rudolph. This was back when Lake Rudolph was called Rudolph Lake. And it was smaller then than it is now. I kid…
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It’s #FlashbackFriday again and we found an amazing piece of Santa Claus Land history to share with you. This is the “Chrysler TV Caravan,” with a commercial touting their 1955 “hundred-million-dollar gift” – a new Chrysler! Don’t miss Santa Jim waving at the end. (He’s one of our 4th generation owners’ great-grandfathers.) Of course, this is…
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Does anyone scrapbook the old-fashioned way any more? It used to be such a thing that the noun became a verb. Nowadays, the digital form of scrapbooking is so handy, with the ability to share old photos with virtually anyone worldwide. Throughout our 73-year history, there’s always been someone taking photos. They’re tucked away in…
Read More »Here’s a fun video created as part of Indiana’s bicentennial celebration:
Read More »This is quite a day in our history. May 19, 1990: #ThrowbackThursday to May 19, 1990 … and the premiere of Raging Rapids! #YouWillGetWet pic.twitter.com/FlIas0o8sc — Holiday World (@HolidayWorld) May 19, 2016 May 19, 1995: On this date in 1995, @48Hours‘ Richard Schlesinger came to visit! @aceonlineorg @SchlesCBS #HeDidntRideRaven pic.twitter.com/vJrygnuFs0 — Holiday World (@HolidayWorld)…
Read More »Every time we sit down to record a new episode, it is with the determination to keep the length at less than an hour. And every time, we fail. Stephen came up with a good idea – he pulled out a portion of one of our longer discussions and will create a mini-episode for next…
Read More »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…
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Back in 1994, it was such a thrill to take part in naming our first big roller coaster. We knew it was going to be built in our Halloween section, so there were nearly endless theming ideas. It turned out to be a rather creepy experience. The first shivery chill occurred on a very hot…
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When a family-owned business has been around for 65 years, there are always new discoveries. By that I mean … we’re forever finding precious old photos and mementos tucked away in odd places. The other day, Mrs. Koch bounded into my office carrying a big box. Look what we just found in the attic over…
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If, in the past 65 years, you worked at Santa Claus Land or Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, you will no doubt recognize that phrase. And who said it. Oh, Joe… Joe Hevron. He’s the only person who worked here every year of our history. All except when he served his country in the Army,…
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