7 minute read
Santa Claus is Back in Town
Christmas has always been important to the timber town of Shelton. Located less than ten miles from Hood Canal on Hammersley Inlet, Shelton is serious about their Christmas tree roots.
In 1962, to celebrate the Seattle World Fair, the town commissioned the retired Simpson Lumber shop artist, Clarence Beauchamp to build a three story Santa Claus to wave at visitors all year long.
The 32' Santa Claus was one of Beauchamp's many contributions to the community's history. In his years with Simpson, and retirement, he left a legacy of creative projects that showcased his gentle humor and sensitivity for spreading joy with his talents.
Clarence "Beau" Beauchamp
Mason County Historical Society Image
A humble man, Clarence Beauchamp arrived in Shelton in 1947 to begin his job with Simpson as the shop painter. Tasks included painting caution signs, forestry signs and promoting safety in the camps. Beauchamp, or "Beau" as he was known by his friends, often volunteered to ply his pen, brush or chisel to a multitude of local projects including a totem pole with interchangeable heads ranking each camp's safety record; the Simpson Clown troupe that traveled to parades throughout Washington (returning with multiple awards); as well as jaw dropping scale and ingenuity on the Forest Festival sets and floats. Most recognizable for Shelton residents is Beauchamp's log monument on Hwy 3 as you enter Shelton. He prepped and carved the 10 foot log end in the Simpson Shop. It was dedicated in May, 1953, as Mason County celebrated its 100th anniversary of logging . It still stand at Lookout Park, having been recently restored through a partnership with Kristmas Town Kiwanis and the City of Shelton.
Mason County Historical Society Image
"With the (Simpson) Company's permission," wrote friend and historian David James, "he turned the shop into a creative studio which bloomed with the giant figures of Paul Bunyan, cutouts of oxen, and tributes to citizens who rode in the Paul Bunyan Parade." James adds, "Beau the sign painter, was also a carver of wood, a cartoonist, a maker of displays, and even a poet."
James donated several of Beauchamp's pieces to the Mason County Historical Society where they are available for viewing on Railroad Avenue.
Shelton Santa Claus
At the age of 66, Beauchamp designed and built the 32' Santa Claus to commemorate Shelton's Christmastown, U.S.A during the 1962 Century 21 Seattle's World Fair. Built in four 16' panels and mounted on poles donated by the PUD #3, the giant structure required the help of multiple crews and boom trucks to erect on the corner of Railroad Avenue and First Street in downtown Shelron.
The plan, according to a 1962 Mason County Journal article, was to give a "vivid message," to tourists passing though, "that Shelton is 'Christmastown, USA' when this eye-popping plywood Santa Claus rivets their attention." The Santa included a giant bag of Mason County products complete with oysters, lumber and a giant doll that featured a small hinged window that could be opened from the back so that children could peer through and be photographed in the bag with a doll body.
Mason County Historical Society Image
In the late 1960's, citing degrading paint and the surrounding trees partially blocking his view, the Santa was moved from his orginal location to be stored in the City Garage until December 1970 when the Shelton Chamber of Commerce led efforts to restore him to public view. With the help of painters from the Washington Corrections Center, under the direction of Bill Gregory, the Santa was revived and reassembled on Highway 3 in the site that is now Tupper Flooring (next to the fomer Burger Pit) so that he could greet visitors as they arrived in the area from Highway 101. The site was provided by Elmer Leboki with the cooperation of the Douglas Fir Christmas Tree Co. The restoration was estimated to take over 160 man hours.
In 1983 Santa Claus was once again restored to Railroad Avenue. This time he was placed in Post Office Park where he remained over 15 years when, paint peeling
Mason County Historical Society Image
and plywood chipping, he was destined for the County dump. The Hunter family, loyal supporters of the Christmastown heritage and holding strong to Christmas tree traditions on their farm in Union, rallied friends to provide trucks to transport Santa's pieces to their barn for safe keeping. To this day Beauchamp's Santa leans his weight against Hunter's barn – standing tall after 56 years of wind, rain and sun – greeting the thousands of families that visit the farm for pumpkins in October and greenery and trees at the holidays.
Present day original Santa at Hunter Farm
A Santa Revival
As a part of this year’s Festival of the Fjord, a 32’ Santa will once again be smiling down on Shelton for the holiday season. In November, volunteers artists and local businesses came together to build a replica of the 1962 design created by Clarence Beauchamp, complete with a door in the doll’s face that children can peer through.
Over the decades Beauchamp's design had been unsympathetically edited with layers of paint. Considering the weathering of the orginial plywood it was feared that more damage would be done if the piece was moved from its present attachments.
Tracing the Santa
Keeping as close to Beauchamp's design as possible, artist Wayne Wenstob created scale replica drawings using archival photographs as well as a 1962 color Ziegler postcard of Santa in combination with measurements and detailed photos of the current Santa Claus. The replica drawings were projected on the 32' X 16' plywood "canvas" for tracing.
Projecting the original black and white image on to the new Santa.
The standard 8' X 4' plywood sections provided a grid for the projection lines. Each piece was cut with a keyhole locking system along the bottom of the section to provide a tight and secure fit with no exterior hardware.
Letting "Christmastown USA."
Buckled up!
Clarence Beauchamp died in 1989 at the age of 92. This project honors his memory as well as that of Christmastown U.S.A. – a magical legacy that runs deep with so many families in the Shelton area.
Grandmothers and mothers who remember placing their own faces in the doll will now be able to use their smart-phones to recreate the image with their daughters and granddaughters!
The 2018 Christmastown USA Santa project is supported by Kristmas Town Kiwanis, Explore Hood Canal and Toziers Brothers Ace Hardware. Thanks goes to the Hansen Family, Wayne Wenstob, Stella Wenstob, and Jessie Masso for countless hours of painting and cutting as well as Duane Wilson, Mark Ziegler, and Mike Gill with Builders First Choice for helping to coordinate logistics. Thank you also to Hodge Engineering of Gig Harbor.
Requiring sixteen sheets of plywood, three gallons of primer, a gallon of Christmas red as well as countless tubes of paint – Beauchamp's sparkling Santa will once again smile down on the town he loved. Santa will be located on First and Mill Streets at Toziers Ace Hardware through December. Stop by and get your family pictures and pick up a tree!
