History of park in book & memories
EAST DUNDEE -- Even after Santa's Village is gone, people like Phillip Wenz will remember it.
Wenz, who is a professional Santa Claus, has written a book titled, what else,
Santa's Village
He looked through 10,000 photographs and spent two years writing the book, which explains how the park began, the rides and how it evolved.
Part of the trivia is how the creator, Glenn Holland, was good friends with Dick and Mac McDonald. The McDonald brothers told him about their business idea with Ray Kroc for a chain of fast-food restaurants. The story inspired Holland to create the first amusement park franchise, Santa's Village, Wenz said.
The first one opened in 1955 in Skyforest, near Lake Arrowhead, Calif. Wenz pointed out that it opened five weeks before Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. A second Santa's Village opened in 1957 in Scotts Valley, in Santa Cruz County, Calif.
East Dundee's park opened in 1959.
Santa's Village had six rides when it opened and was more well-known for the shopping available there, Wenz said. The gingerbread house was a working bakery and there was a Mrs. Claus's Candy Kitchen that sold hand-dipped chocolates. The Mill Will Workshop, where "elves" made artisan toys, and a shop that sold porcelain dolls from around the world also were located there, he said. A newspaper clipping he found stated that Santa's Village had the best shopping outside State Street in Chicago, according to Wenz.
An Internet site, www.groups.msn.com/santasvillage, includes much of the history and a link to a YouTube video of a B-movie filmed at the park in 1964. The movie was called
Santa's Magic Kingdom
. Wenz bought the video in 1992 for $2, coincidentally across the street at Wal-mart. The movie has been dubbed in Spanish and French, he said.
Wenz came to the park in 1986. He had just graduated from college and was working for a photo company. Santa's Village was one of the clients. He played Santa Claus quite a bit that summer, later returning full time. Playing Santa was nothing new to Wenz who marched in his first parade at age 14.
Santa's Village has become part of the public domain, he said, as evidenced by the 300 e-mails he has received since the park's announced closing earlier this year. The park means different things to different people, he said. There are people who worked at the park for 30 years, some who met their husbands or wives there and some who made visiting the park a tradition, he said.
"A lot of people are disappointed that another Chicagoland attraction is going," Wenz said. "Santa's Village is very identifiable in the area."
