JERSEYVILLE/BELLEVILLE – A local Santa recently received a note from a little girl who came to visit him. The note read, “Dear Santa, can I have my dad back?”
Santa gave her a hug and promised to pray for her. He wrote her name down in a little red book and prayed for her every night for a week, and then he prays every day for all of the names in that book — the kids who have asked for things Santa can’t deliver.
There’s the girl who asked Santa to help her dad get out of prison. There’s a boy who asked for bug spray because his house had a lot of bugs. Though Santa can’t fix everything, he did work with Got Faith? Ministry in Jerseyville to send an exterminator to that boy’s house.
Steve Pegram, the founder of Got Faith?, explained that he is Santa’s cousin. He helped RiverBender.com get in touch with Santa ahead of the busy Christmas holidays, and Santa has a message for all the kids and families out there this year.
“He errs who thinks Santa enters through the chimney. Santa enters through the heart,” Santa said. “That’s what I try to do, enter through the heart instead of the chimney and make a difference in these kids’ lives.”
Santa is reminded of this lesson every year during Santa School, when 300 of Santa’s helpers get together to learn about how to best represent the man in the red suit. Pegram started helping Santa 30 years ago, after his daughter’s daycare was in the market for a Santa and Pegram was the only one who fit into the suit.
Every Santa has a different “schtick” for when the kids ask if they’re real. Pegram’s cousin Santa tells kids that he must be real because he knows their address: 1444 Mockingbird Lane. When the kids say that isn’t their address, he assures them that it is their rooftop address. (Some parents might recognize 1444 Mockingbird Lane from “The Munsters,” which happens to be one of Santa’s favorite shows.)
Santa has 540 elves. Every now and then, kids ask for big gifts that the elves might not be able to make. Santa never promises a gift, but always says he will do the best he can.
He explains that sometimes the elves mess up, but that’s okay — “We all mess up every once and a while,” he says. But he asks the kids to do him a favor: Can they be thankful for whatever they get? The answer is always yes.
Every year, Santa sees thousands of kids at different events like Jerseyville’s Downtown Country Christmas Festival or Eckert’s in Belleville. (Pegram shared that anyone who mentions Got Faith? at Eckert’s on Dec. 18, 2024, will help Got Faith? receive 10% of the sale.) This year, Santa’s calendar is “totally booked” from November through New Year’s Day.
In addition to all of his other Santa duties, Santa makes sure to stop by the Christmas Midnight Mass at St. Francis Catholic Church in Jerseyville. The bells on his boots jingle as he walks into the silent cathedral and walks to the front, bows to his knees and prays. He leaves without saying a word.
It’s important to Pegram that Santa shares his faith. Pegram lives by 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 — “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus” — and this scripture has guided him through life’s challenges, including the loss of two children and his decision to start Got Faith? to help others who are struggling.
Pegram noted that the spirit of Santa and Christmas goes beyond one man. In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic, people worried that Santa was unable to perform his regular duties.
But “this Santa from Jerseyville” was able to meet with kids thanks to help from the community. The Jersey Community High School shop class built him a globe, and Cope Plastics donated a plastic sphere so Santa could stand inside the globe and talk to children.
“That’s the whole thing that I really want to try to get across,” Santa said. “During Christmas, everybody is all happy and getting together and being joyful. But boy, if we could do it all year long, it would be unbelievable.”
Santa and Pegram do what they can to help other people, whether it’s by praying, meeting with kids or working with Got Faith? Ministry. Santa pointed out that people can do a lot of good and make a big difference in each other’s lives. After all, that’s his goal at Christmastime and beyond.
“I’ve got the privilege of wearing a red suit, and I honestly believe it’s God working through me making a difference,” Santa added. “But you don’t have to wear a red suit to make a difference. Honestly, you can make a difference in people’s lives every day.”
