I miss my friend Santa

I miss our Santa Claus. I miss my friend Lumpy. For so many years, they were one and the same.

On the first Friday in December every year, The Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce and local merchants teamed up for a special Christmas kick-off event in the Sonoma Plaza.

Many local merchants agreed to stay open later that normal so that local residents could shop that evening. At about 5:30 p.m., a Sonoma fire truck would head north on Broadway toward the Plaza, its siren blaring. Seated in the front passenger seat of that truck was Sonoma’s own Santa Claus, David “Lumpy” Williams.

Lumpy was Santa from the first time I met him. He always came to see me prior to the season, to make sure the Index-Tribune had all the information on where he would be and when starting the first Friday in December.

He first adopted the Santa persona when he was a 15-year-old high school student in Pittsfield, Mass, and donned a borrowed Santa suit to lead a fundraising effort that brought in $3,000. He was hooked for life.

He loved to make children smile and let every kid who wanted to shake his hand and say what they wanted for Christmas. The Friday evening event was an opportunity for him to stroll the Plaza, meet and greet more local folks and give every child a chance to speak to him.

He would also visit Sonoma Valley Hospital, convalescent hospitals, Sonoma Community Center and Vintage House senior center. He made sure Santa was everywhere during the holiday season.

I doubt he ever rested or slept on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. He made sure as many people as possible, especially those in hospitals and rest homes, got a visit from Santa. Somehow, he also managed to drop by our house every Christmas Eve, first when our children were young, then years later, to visit our grandchildren. They were always special moments.

Even when he wasn’t in uniform, Lumpy was the warm, kind, gentle and generous person we all as children imagined Santa Claus to be.

There are Santa’s all over the place during the Christmas season, but in my mind and the minds of Sonoma Valley children and the people who knew him, Lumpy was the real Santa.

He died of a heart attack in October 2012. He was 61. Christmas in Sonoma Valley has not been the same since that day.

I miss our Santa and my friend Lumpy, especially at this time of year.