Then Again
Audrey Juds, a longtime resident of New Berlin, has worked over 25 years covering the city as a reporter, editor and columnist. Contact her at dajuds@att.net.
Mrs. Santa cares
Taking on the identity of Mrs. Santa is much more than just a seasonal fun thing for New Berlin resident Jeri Winter. While helping her Santa for the past 40-some years, she has found this is a great way to cheer others.
Her list of "others" includes visiting schools, churches, the elderly, children with special needs, plus some adults with handicaps who are living in a group home. Jeri recalls how she and Santa even dressed up as Easter bunnies to visit a dying child on his birthday.
I recently asked this talented woman to fill in at a church women’s Christmas party when the scheduled program was cancelled due to snow storm predictions. Jeri agreed to help out, even on short notice. Arriving in an outfit she made -- worn with a pert bonnet and elf-like slippers -- Mrs. Santa was an immediate hit. She greeted people with a broad smile as she jingled her sleigh bells and wished them a merry Christmas.
She later explained how her life as Mrs. Santa evolved. Her husband, Bill, already had been volunteering as Santa for the Waukesha County Fair Board. When the younger of their two children became 10 years old, he told her it was time for her to join him.
Later they actually were paid for their regular appearances at the Country Springs Hotel. This is where they became involved with the Sunday brunches with Santa. They also are on deck for the World’s Greatest Cookie Sale, held at the hotel right after Thanksgiving.
Bill, who was the manager at Brookfield Square, also was their Santa. Jeri recalls an incident when a busload of basketball players stopped at the mall. When they saw this petite woman and her 5 ft. 8 in. husband, she said the players all lined up to sit on their laps. "And then we all switched places and we sat on their laps," she added.
There also was the time they were asked to ride in the back seat of a squad car to be escorted to visit a sick child in a poor neighborhood. Enroute, Jeri said people were staring at them, wondering what Mr. and Mrs. Santa did wrong.
Jeri is an expert in handling youngsters who are afraid of Santa. She showed her audience her stretchy beaded bracelet, which she uses to distract the frightened tots, and she has a special technique to soothe babies. "I talk to them in their own language, with oohs and ahs," she said.
When her husband passed away in 2002, her son, Billy, convinced Jeri that they had to continue the Winter family tradition. So he filled in for his father. Jeri notes he also has the kind blue eyes for which his father was known.
Of course, when Mrs. Santa is out of uniform, she does not retire her friendly smile. Jeri is one of the first to greet members of the New Berlin Senior Citizens Club as they arrive. And during meetings it is customary for this cheerful person – who sings in the Senior Chorus and participates in the Kitchen Band -- to lead about 100 members in "God Bless America."
And she will be jingling bells when the chorus performs during their meeting, Dec. 14, at the Senior Center held in the former New Berlin Library.
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