I met Santa Ray for the first time the first Christmas I worked at the Meadville Tribune. I worked Christmas eve and was told this local man who dressed up as Santa visiting area businesses from the day after Thanksgiving until the day before Christmas gets a shave and a haircut after the evening mass at St. Agatha's Church in Meadville.
This man's name was Ray Eldridge.
He would close out mass every Christmas Eve by showing up at the back of the church, walking down the aisle to a very silent crowd who watched as we went to the manger in front of the church, neat and said a prayer to the baby Jesus, without saying a word walked back out of the church and left.
He then would go to a friend's barber shop near by and get his beard shaved off and a trim. He didn't want to show up in church the next day or anytime and have the children think it was just him and not Santa who showed up Christmas Eve.
What i didn't know then that that night i met a person who would be my subject for many years and my friend.
A few years later I asked to follow him from when he woke up to when he went to sleep on Christmas Eve. Then I said hey Santa how about a picture of you smelling a white Rose of Peace since we were at war. Something quiet and subtle, not political.
Another year I said I just want to you make a series of expressions. He never really understood what I was getting at, but he trusted me to do right by him. That year he would see me from time to time and say "Richard, you made me a famous man, I counted I was on the Front page 18 times! No one can ever say that but me!" All those expressions i had him make we put them together in a fun display.
When he died a few years ago this town lost something very unique.
Ray would get a kick out of his legacy living on and so I am going to dig out a few of the photographs of him that i made on my own and also ones made for the Meadville Tribune and re-release them so that his gift to us lives on.
This print I made of Ray on my own I will release first. I have 5 - 8x10 signed prints ready and will make another edition of larger prints later. The 8x10's I will sell for $50tx now plus shipping if out of town. Interested email me at [email protected] In future I'll have cards and 16x20's available but these will be the only 8x10s.
I'll let you know when we release the Santa photos made for the Tribune when we get them all prepared and ready.
Ray my friend, you are missed, but you live on and hopefully people will still learn from you forever!