Santa hijacked from Putney theme park
Toolbox
By Susan Smallheer Herald Staff - Published: April 7, 2006
PUTNEY — Somebody was naughty and not very nice in Putney this week: Someone masquerading as the Grinch stole Santa Claus from his perch overlooking Santa's Land.
The venerable St. Nick statue, one of the original fixtures from the 1950s-era Christmas theme park, disappeared sometime Tuesday night and owners Timothy and Leslie Wells of Putney are offering a $1,000 reward.
Santa Claus is about 8-feet tall, according to Leslie Wells, who, along with her husband, bought Santa's Land three years ago. He's a tad overweight and weighs a couple of hundred pounds.
"He was a big guy," she said. And, yes, he's wearing a very familiar red and white outfit, she said, and has a large white beard.
"He was very heavy and taking him wasn't easy. Somebody somewhere knows what happened to him," she said. "Somebody knows who did this."
Wells said that a similar Santa Claus was taken from Santa's Land 10 years ago, and was left in a ditch, damaged beyond repair.
"It's so disappointing. The park will be 50 years old next year and we've worked really hard restoring and building on the charm of Santa's Land," she said.
Santa was standing on large blocks of toys, with "SL" stamped on the blocks. His hand is raised and he's waving to passersby, she said. Many generations of families have had their pictures taken with Santa, she said.
The Wellses have notified local antique stores about the theft. She estimated that Santa Claus was worth $8,000 and $10,000. "He was molded especially for Santa's Land, out of fiberglass. He had all his original coloring."
Wells said that of the original figures in the Christmas-themed park, only the Purple Plum Man, Rudolph the Reindeer, the iceberg slide, and another Santa remained.
"This is what we're trying to preserve and build on. People have let us know about the good will, and this is so contrary to that. I think Santa's Land is a Vermont treasure," she said.
The park is very popular with Vermont and out of state families with young children, she said. "It's a safe place to be together — it is not an amusement park," she stressed.
Wells said that a lot of the original 1950s crafts and color schemes remain. "A lot of the signage is very unusual and crafted out of fiberglass, it might even be plaster of Paris," she said. On the lollipops, she said, "someone glued a lot of bugle beads. It's very unusual and very retro."
The theft is being investigated by the Windham County Sheriff's Department.
Lt. Sherwood Lake of that department couldn't be reached for comment.
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