A GHOST AND CHRISTMASES PAST

The Jan. 11 edition of The Commercial Appeal carried the obituary of Daniel J. Rokitka, 89. He was a World War II veteran, and an electrician by trade. What he was best known for and proudest of was his role as the Wells Station Santa Claus, which he filled for 37 years. The event provided indelible holiday memories for scores of Memphis children and their parents and one of this city’s best human-interest stories.

It was a clever setup, as outlined in The CA in December 2010 by reporter Richard Morgan. (I suggested to The CA that it should rerun the story on its website, to no avail. I was also hoping The CA would run a photo that I could snag.)

“Any kid on Santa Claus’ nice list knows that even the smallest envelope to the North Pole is heavy for an elf; it’s best to see Santa in person.

“For 37 years, children in Memphis have lined up outside of the Electric Wiring Service Co. on Wells Station Road in Berclair to do just that.

“Every year since 1973, the operation has been run by Dan Rokitka, 82, whose office displays a sign that reads “Grandpas Are The Next Best Thing to Santa Claus” (Rokitka is a great-grandfather) and a community service award from Wells Station Elementary.

“The walls are also plastered with Polaroids of kids and parents visiting Santa, from so long ago that the kids are wearing teal-and-fuchsia mini-Cosby sweaters, the moms have perms and Laura Ashley dresses, and the dads look like roadies for Van Halen.

“It’s not Christmas until we do this,” said Bob Hess, Rokitka’s assistant.

“Hess’ assistance is the key to the magic of the experience. He hides in a booth with a one-way mirror, armed with a portable phone. Parents or other loved ones sneak into the booth, too, and feed personal details to Hess, who relays it to Santa’s earpiece.

“It’s how Santa knows all the kids’ names without them having to tell him. And knows their pets’ names, dolls’ names, ages, grades in school and if they’ve been talking back to their parents.”



I’ve seen pictures of Mr. Rokitka at work, and if memory serves the Santa visits occurred in the structure at the right in the picture (circa 2014) at the top.of the post. I became aware of Mr. Rokitka because his business, Electric Wiring Service, operated out of the first location of the old Lois Pit Bar-B-Q on Wells Station.









I posted a brief history/timeline of Lois Pit Bar-B-Q a few years back, one of my favorite stories. I was able to photograph the old pit before it was torn down. Mr. Rokitka said Code Enforcement had been pressing him for years to get rid of it.











THROWBACK THURSDAY (EARLY EDITION)

I get an email when birch from memphis updates his flickr account with another batch of old Memphis photos and other historical items. The latest included this 1940s menu from the old Pig ‘N Whistle on Union.



