Rudolph and The Santa House

Thanks to the efforts of Easton Utilites, Rudolph and the Santa House returned once again to be a memorable part of the Holidays in Easton.

A Holiday Tradition at Talbottown

Ask around Easton and no one seems to recall precisely when or why Rudolph stopped visiting. However, just about anyone who lived here between the 1950s and 1970s remembers the impact that the larger-than-life reindeer had. For two decades, Rudolph heralded the beginning of the holiday season from atop his perch at the Talbottown Shopping Center. Over his orange telephone receiver, Rudolph listened to holiday wishes from children down below.

Easton’s Rudolph was originally developed in 1957 by Howard Adler of Adler Display Studios in Baltimore. At the time, Mr. Adler was known for his creativity in developing characters for Frontier Town in Ocean City as well as The Enchanted Forest in Ellicott City.

As Easton columnist Rick Kollinger explained in a November 2013 column for The Star Democrat, 1957 was an important year for Talbottown: “In 1957, Easton native James Rouse developed Talbottown. It was his first development, but not his last as he went on to develop Columbia, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, and Boston’s Faneuil Hall Marketplace.

Talbottown forever changed shopping in Easton as it moved the center of downtown retail northward with the lure of free parking and S&H Green Stamps. The original Talbottown had 16 shops and cost upwards of $1 million. The anchor store was Food Fair, a large supermarket, and included W.T. Grant, Hess Apparel, The Talbottown Pharmacy, Eagles, and Hechts. Although Rouse had originally wanted the shopping center to feature a lot of glass and chrome, a Citizens’ Committee prevailed upon him to design it in a more colonial style. It opened with much fanfare and included speeches by Easton Mayor Calvin G. Lomax and Congressman Edward T. Miller.

It was especially festive at Christmastime. The pillars were wrapped in red ribbons and the large tree in the middle of the parking lot was festooned with lights. There was a small house where Santa Claus sat and listened to children’s wishes for Christmas morning. The extra special feature at Christmas, however, was Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer.
Rudolph was a fifteen-foot reindeer that sat atop the Eagles store with a phone to his ear. (This is where the Piazza Italian Market is now.) On the opposite corner (Baird Financial Services) was a phone booth. It was an old style phone where you cranked the handle to ring Rudolph. Rudolph would then come on the phone and ask your name and what you wanted for Christmas.”

During that time, Easton Utilities helped with the decorations at Talbottown, enthusiastically led by George Taylor, the superintendent of electric distribution as Amy Steward explained in a 2011 article for Attraction magazine: “Much of the credit for Easton’s Christmas celebration was due to the efforts of George Taylor, of Easton, who from 1957 to 1987, was the part-time operations supervisor for Talbottown in Easton...George, who worked full-time as the distribution superintendent for Easton Utilities, took his extra part-time job to heart at Christmas-time. He designed and every year installed the Christmas decorations for Talbottown, sharing his love of the holiday with Easton residents… George added his personal touch to the tradition of Rudolph by using his own voice as the voice of Rudolph…Rudolph’s phone had a cord that connected to a phone booth below. Children would come to a red phone booth, which George built himself, and crank an old-fashioned telephone and George would answer, “Hello there, this is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer! What is your name?” When the children answered with their names, Rudolph would ask, “And what do you want for Christmas this year?”

Rudolph Returns

In December 2013, for the first time in more than 30 years, Rudolph returned to the Talbottown Shopping Center so that a new generation of children could step into the magic red phone booth, pickup the receiver, and tell Rudolph what they want from Santa. “I remember Rudolph vividly,” said Easton Utilities President & CEO, Hugh Grunden, whose vision it has been to bring Rudolph back. “He made a lasting impression on me as a child and was a big part of what made the holidays in Easton so special.”

Rudolph’s return was facilitated by his old friends at Easton Utilities as Mr. Grunden enlisted Bill Russell, Manager of Cable and Communications at the time, to lead a team of Easton Utilities staff to manage the project. Gary Bystrom and his staff at Chisel 3D in Atlanta, Georgia expertly re-created Rudolph, based solely on a grainy, 50-plus-year-old newspaper clipping and the faded memories of local residents. “We’ve built hundreds of foam sculptures but this was a unique piece,” said Mr. Bystrom. “Our team of artists and sculptures had fun working on Rudolph.” Mr. Russell located a phone booth on Craig’s List that Easton Utilities staff members Lonnie Larmore, David Allen, and Denny Clough refurbished, installing LED lighting that change color, a roof cabinet for the phone works and extensive electrical work. Mr. Larmore gave the booth a new cedar shingle roof. Talbottown Shopping Center, along with its many stores, and The Star Democrat helped with the festivities as Rudolph made his triumphant returned to Easton on December 6, 2013.

Each Year, Easton Utilities crews work hard to make Rudolph “come alive”. There is quite a bit of prep work needed behind the scenes. A team pulls together each year to coordinate efforts and ensure a bright and shiny Rudolph is ready for the public. Crews from the Electric Department use a bucket truck to lift Rudolph into place and connect all the components.

The Santa House Returns

Ten years later, in 2023, the Santa House, where children could stop in and tell Santa their Christmas wishes, returned to Talbottown as well. This addition was the vision of current Easton Utilities President & CEO, John Horner. “Bringing back the Santa House that many remember from days past will add to the spirit and magic of the holidays,” said Mr. Horner. A huge thanks to the carpentry class at St. Michaels High School who built the structure. Another team at Easton Utilities installed the finishing touches including plank floors, a fireplace with mantle, twinkle lights, and festive decorations.

We hope that you enjoy Rudolph and try Santa House and capture a little of the Holiday Magic they bring to Easton!

Special thanks to David Fike, Rick Kollinger, Chris Polk of The Star Democrat, and Amy Steward, Jenn Latham and Allison Downes of Attraction Magazine who granted permission to reprint portions of their articles.