Today in History - 1937

Charles W. Howard, a farmer in Albion, N.Y., founded his school for Santas in an old barn on his property. Howard opened the school after a visit to a Lord & Taylor department store in Buffalo, where he had been appalled at the poor grooming and comportment of the Santas working there.

The school was tiny and no-frills -- a few wooden chairs in front of a huge stone fireplace. But Howard was passionate about his subject, and he drilled his Santas on the history and character of Santa Claus, as well as on a slate of related minutiae: appropriate toys for each age group, the mating and feeding habits of reindeer, the proper way to tuck one's pants legs into one's boots. In the booklet he printed up for his classes there was a one-page essay titled "Regarding Santa Wearing Glasses."

Howard cared the most about the kind of man Santa was. In his advice to shopkeepers on choosing a Santa, he was specific with his recommendations. "A man of the very highest caliber you can obtain," he wrote. "Middle age, family man if possible. Fairly well-educated. Knows children, their habits and traits."

The school grew over the years, and Howard added a Bachelor of Santa Claus degree for those willing to complete a semester of department store work, papers about the history of Santa and a thesis about Santa's character.