By OLIVIA BERGMEIER
Salina Post
As the sunlight faded on the weekend before Christmas, Georgetown Road lit up holiday lights and festive music while Santas and their helpers handed out candy and popcorn to passersby.
Near the corner of Brookwood Lane and Georgetown Road, the Santa Shacks popped more than 300 pounds of popcorn while Santa's Elves hurriedly filled baskets with holiday-themed candies.
Georgetown Santas greet neighborhood guests yearly from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Dec. 21 to 23. The event is free to the public and a drive-thru experience, so cars regularly back up to Crawford Street in town, waiting to pull through Georgetown Road.
This year marked the 25th anniversary of the Georgetown Santas, and since its beginnings in 1999, the event has transformed into a large community celebration.
"It's a lot of community coming together, but then also it has become our family tradition too, so that's really cool," said Georgetown volunteer Justin Martin.
Family tradition and community celebration
Justin Martin began volunteering for the festive event when his father, Pete Martin, joined in the mid-2000s. He was in high school then, but he started popping popcorn in a tent while his father and the other first five Santas handed out candy.
Jack Schmiedeler, one of Pete and Justin Martin's neighbors in 1999, started the event by handing out leftover Halloween candy in a Santa Clause suit the weekend before Christmas.
Justin Martin, one of the Georgetown volunteers, started helping with the free event in the mid-2000s when his father, Pete Martin, joined Schmiedeler in passing out candy as Santa.
Once Pete and Justin Martin joined with the other four Santas, Schmiedeler, Paul McDaniel, Mike Chaput and Mel Augustine, the event grew with more and more Santas joining the roster.
"Everybody needs a little joy in their life, and I think we do that," Pete Martin said. "I think people are coming out to try and get in the mood a little bit, and this helps them."
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One of the original Santas, Chaput, still lives on Georgetown Road but had to sit out of his Santa suit this year due to ongoing medical issues.
Even though he couldn't actively participate, he still sat on his front driveway each night to witness the Christmas cheer.
"It brings me back to my childhood, so we want to give it back to everybody else," Chaput said. "Everybody needs to encounter this because it is awesome — the laughter, the kids and the adults."
Chaput said he had a challenging year, and missing his place as a Santa Claus didn't help, but witnessing the event's joy to the community helped lift his spirits.
Brian Berner, one of the new Santas this year, filled in for Chaput but started five years ago as a helper in one of the Santa Shacks.
Once he began helping the community event, he said the smiles from children, adults and senior citizens infected the rest of his holiday season with Christmas cheer.
"You could be having the worst day in the world, but you drive through something like this, see all these guys in Santa suits, and you can't help but smile," Berner said. "It's truly the best medicine in the world. We've got guys fighting medical issues — just being out here and smiling is probably some of the best stuff for them."
Today, Justin Martin brings his family to the event even though he and Pete Martin don't live on Georgetown Road anymore. Justin Martin said the event reminds him of childhood and continues as a family tradition with his two sons, Hayes, 2, and Harrison, 5.