Photo Courtesy of Owen Yardley

Mahima Basker ‘28 

REPORTER

There are common traditions of the holidays: sipping hot cocoa by the fire, rewatching classic rewatches like Elf and Home Alone (1 and 2, of course), rummaging through old boxes for that one flimsy paper Christmas tree ornament you made when you were 5, and, of course, one unique but beloved tradition in our own community: waiting for Santa to come down the street heroically perched on top of a massive brick red fire truck, offering a candy cane just for you. 

This is perhaps why, when I met fire police captain Jeff Hamaker and found out that he is the Santa I’ve been seeing every December for over ten years, the first thing I instinctively said was, “I feel like I’m meeting a celebrity.” Hamaker simply laughed in response. As a seasoned veteran of the tradition, having played Santa since 2011, he has plenty of knowledge of the beginnings of this custom. He explains that it started decades ago, and that many other fire companies in our area have their own versions of this tradition as well. However, he admits the custom does take up a lot of time due to the “tremendous amount of territory to cover.” Tremendous is correct. Because of the large number of children they need to visit, the firefighters usually split the time over four weekends, with each shift lasting an astounding eight hours. Still, Hamaker loves taking part in this annual custom, as he delights in interacting with the children and their parents. “It lets folks know who we are; that we enjoy working with the community,” he says.

 Tyler Bowman Jr., Hamaker’s understudy and a UHS alumnus, offers similar praise for the tradition. “Seeing the fire truck every December when I grew up made my day,” he says, “It’s a really fun job.” Despite its perks, the job undoubtedly comes with its challenges, such as trying to make your voice sound as Santa-like as possible. Bowman also reveals, “sometimes the kids ask questions,” ranging from ‘When will we see you?’ to ‘What are my presents going to be?’ “You have to be good about freestyling to answer those,” he shares. When asked for his favorite part of the Santa tradition, Bowman gives an answer without hesitation: “the smiles on the kids’ faces.”