Articles and Memorabilia

One year after Santa's Village was dismantled, the man who reigned there as Santa Claus for two decades has traded in his red stocking cap for two new hats: published author and would-be developer.

Phillip Wenz hit the book-signing circuit this month to promote "Santa's Village," his newly released pictorial history of the iconic East Dundee theme park, which welcomed its final visitors in 2005. He's also trying to win support for a plan to revive the site.

"We've had serious conversations with the right people: the property owner, investors and financial people," Wenz said Thursday. "We have a very good opportunity to get this done."

The shuttered park, located at Illinois Highways 25 and 72, is now marketed by the village as Dundee Crossings. Recently, that intersection has seen a retailer exodus; in March, Dominick's closed its grocery store on the northwest corner and Wal-Mart intends to vacate the southeast corner within the year, officials said.

Despite some interest, solid plans to convert the 38-acre Santa's Village property into a mixed-use development have not materialized.

"At this point we really don't have a definitive proposal in hand," said Frank Koehler, East Dundee's village administrator. "Sometimes it's easier when you have a cornfield to picture a retail box and parking lot."

Old rides such as the 63-foot Typhoon roller coaster, Snowball and Frog Hopper were sold and now are scattered around the country, but the Polar Dome ice rink and the park's themed buildings remain intact, fueling Wenz's dreams of a revival.

Although it remains doubtful that the park would ever be what it once was, it's possible some elements might contribute to the next development phase, said Patrick O'Connor, a partner with Chicago developer Sterling Bay Companies, which bought the property in 2005 for $5.6 million.

O'Connor said his company has discussed the prospects with a number of people in the amusement park field. Those talks included conversations with a group of private investors fronted by Wenz, 44, who has proposed a scaled-down, retail-friendly version of Santa's Village.

"What we want to do is fit all of the objectives that the landowner and the village of East Dundee have and keep some of the history alive," Wenz said. "We're looking at every opportunity to keep this thing going."

Launched in 1959, the facility was one of three Santa's Villages built by California developer Glenn Holland and the last one to close. Operated since 1979 by North Pole Corp. and its owner, Hugh Wilson, the summertime attraction helped put tiny East Dundee on the map for generations of Chicagoans.

Wenz, the face of the park and its resident historian from the time he began donning the red suit as a 23-year-old in 1986, originally conceived of the book as a tribute to Santa's Village on its 45th anniversary in 2004. The project didn't take shape until two years later, after financial woes had forced operators to close the park.

"I realized in 2006 that these were the last few days of this park's history," Wenz said. "That's when it kind of hit home that this was the time" for the book.

Appointed park administrator in June 2006, Wenz maintained the property and oversaw preparations for the sale of the rides later that year. Instead of money, he received all the props from Santa's house and the park's extensive archives -- a treasure chest of videos, commercials and more than 10,000 images dating to its construction in 1958.

Wenz, who lives south of Kankakee, sorted through the collection last summer to create a timeline for the book.

Early response to the book has been encouraging, said Emily Miller, spokeswoman for South Carolina-based Arcadia Publishing.

"Since the closing was so recent, it's still something that's on people's minds a lot, so it's done really well," said Miller, who listed "The Chicago L," "Taylor Street: Chicago's Little Italy" and "Chicago's Forgotten Synagogues" among their other current local titles.

Wenz's next book signing will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Barnes and Noble at Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee.

Talking to everyone from Don Goers, who played Santa from 1966 to 1979, to J. Putnam Henck, the park's general contractor, Wenz filled in the historical gaps.

"I was writing to two audiences: the children of yesteryear and the children that never got to see it," he said.

It was a place where every day was Christmas and Santa Claus was there to hear the wishes of good boys and girls.

Although Santa's Village's final day of operation was Sept. 18, 2005, 46 years after opening, the memories live on in the hearts of children everywhere, even if they are now adults.

For Phillip Wenz, Santa's Village was a magical place and served as his home-away-from-home for 20 years while he acted as the theme park's namesake.

"I think that the park itself was a part of history," Wenz said.

Wenz undertook the project of chronicling the history of Santa's Village for a recent release of Arcadia Publishing's Images of America book series.

As acting administrator of Santa's Village, Wenz still spends three to four days a week at the park. The park's future is unknown at this time, though all options are still open as the infrastructure still exists.

"Basically, Santa hasn't left the building yet," Wenz laughed.

Though most of the rides have been sold to other companies, Wenz remains in possession of the original Santa's House chair, sleigh bed and frozen North Pole, which sits in his side yard.

While it is difficult for him to see the park without guests milling around and rides running, he still hasn't given up hope that Santa's Village one day will welcome a new generation of children.

"A lot of people would make a summer pilgrimage out to the park," Wenz said. "We saw people continuously year after year.

"Some of the people who sat on my knee in the '80s were my helpers in the '90s," he said.

One particular memory that stands out for Wenz is the park's 35th anniversary. Wenz took the day off as Santa and let Don Gores revisit his position.

"Gores did what he did best: entertain children," reads the caption under the photo. "The magic came back into his eyes as he walked in Santa's House for the first time in 15 years. Of course, the first kid in line that day was Wenz."

Santa's Village is available at area bookstores, independent retailers, online bookstores or through Arcadia Publishing, www.arcadiapublishing.com, for $19.99.

((Below is a link directly to Amazon.com where you can purchase the book at a discount))

"The park's success was not made up of buildings or attractions; it was made up of people." Wenz said in the book's acknowledgments. "Whether it was the guests that traversed through the gate, the employee that operated a ride, or the creative ownership, people were the spirit that held all the other elements together."

Wenz will sign copies at 6 p.m. Oct. 3 at Barnes & Noble in Spring Hill Mall.

 ‘The best job in the world’: Portraying Santa at Santa’s Village inspires new book
By Gerard Dziuba   - 08/24/2007

The Daily Herald

This is a story not only about a new book that has been written about the Three Worlds of Santa's Village theme park -- but its author, Phillip Wenz.

One can't be written without the other, because both have played an important role in the northern Fox Valley history in the last 40 years.

The park came along before Wenz. It was born in 1959. He came along three years later. And when he was 4 years old, the bond was created.

That was when Wenz first visited Santa Claus at the now-closed East Dundee park. And, for many years, he actually wore the white beard and red suit, and was the park's unofficial patriarch.

Even though Santa's Village closed in 2006, the bond continues. And since the 38-acre vacant property can't talk or write, Wenz took up the task.

He's been jotting down memories and gathering photographs for his book, "Images of America: Santa's Village."

"For years, I have been keeping notes and a journal of happenings at the park," he said.

"It was like putting together a puzzle. There's so many things that happened there."

Twenty million people rode the rides, ate hot dogs and popcorn and fell in love with the park on Route 25. There were also more than 10,000 employees, many of whom were teenagers who fell in and out of love, and started their working careers there.

"Three movies were filmed there," Wenz said. "People got married in the Chapel of the Little Shepherd and on the ice of the Polar Dome and 'Wide World of Sports' filmed the National Speed Skating Championship there."

And all the while, Wenz's white-gloved hand waved to the crowd and soaked in more images and memories.

"I had the best job in the world." he said. "I played Santa Claus."

Not only did he portray him, but he held classes so other people could portray Santa with the same zeal.

Santa's Village in East Dundee was the third in a chain of similar parks. The other two, in California, have also closed.

When the northern Kane County park opened, it was the largest amusement park of its kind in the Midwest. At first, it was open year-round.

But people didn't like spinning around in winter's cold, so, after a few years it closed until the warm months arrived.

Debbie Rupnick was one of the teenagers who found her first job at Santa's Village. She worked on a couple of rides, and is quite excited about the Monday release of the book.

"I'll buy it and look through it closely to see if there's a picture of me in it," she said. "It will be fun to look at."

It also will bring back a lot of memories for her and other Dundee Township-area residents who worked and played there.

The property now is not much to look at. The rides were sold at auction and weeds grow in the parking lot.
But don't say goodbye to the park just yet.

"Oh, the final chapter on Santa's Village has not been written," Wenz said. "We're pursuing some opportunities." But he would not say whether he himself plans to buy the property.

Wenz will sign copies of his book (published by Arcadia Publishing), at 6 p.m. Oct. 3 at Barnes & Noble Booksellers at Spring Hill Mall.