HOLIDAYS

By Kathryn Sheranko | Photos by David Pinchot

Police chief Louis Volle never did get that airplane he wanted as a kid.

Whether it’s the newest video game, or something more traditional like a football or a puppy, (which the parents end up taking care of), children usually start thinking about their Christmas wishes sometime around early September. After careful consideration and estimation of how large the chimney really is, they’ll decide exactly what to ask of Santa Claus. The biggest problem becomes writing the letter with enough conviction to ensure he’ll make room in his sleigh for everything on Christmas Eve.

But before high-speed internet, satellite radio or high-definition TV, how did kids even know what to ask for?

“Back then, the big thing was the Sears and Roebuck catalog – it had all the toys in it,” says Jan Eckstein, owner of Of This Earth soy candle shop in South Fayette. “We really looked forward to getting it and paging through and picking out all the toys.”

As a 3-year-old growing up in central California in the 1960s, Eckstein recalls writing letters to Santa asking for farm animals, cowboy and Indian figurines as well as all the farmyard accessories they would need. “I just had a love for animals and nature in general,” she says. Her family owned a ranch and had several horses, cows, chickens, dogs and cats. Growing up on the land we used to find artifacts like arrowheads and mortars and pestles,” she says, which may have led to her desire to become a bedroom cowgirl. “You make a list for Santa and that was always on the top of list,” she says. That year, Santa delivered.

“I loved them,” Eckstein recalls. Rarely neglected, she racked up countless hours of entertainment redesigning the landscape and tending to the various animals. “When a child gets something they really want, it’s a wonderful thing.”

Mike Hoy, South Fayette Township manager, agrees that getting the first item on his list made at least one holiday that much more special.

“I remember I had one of those old bikes that had a banana seat. I wanted a 10-speed so bad,” he says. He doesn’t recall if he wrote a letter to Santa or not, but his parents were surely informed. “Window shopping for the perfect model was also likely a pre-holiday excursion,” he says.

A 10-speed made Mike Hoy’s Christmas as a kid.

Likewise, Eckstein parted ways with her childhood dream toys, though she wishes she had held on to them. “I’m kicking myself that I don’t still have them,” she says, as the figures could possibly be collector’s items. Collectible and hobby shops offer various 20-piece vintage 1960s and ‘70s rubber soldier, cowboy-and-Indian and farmyard sets made by Auburn Rubber Company for about $45.

Santa came through for Hoy and Eckstein. Other children were not so lucky.

South Fayette Township Police Chief Louis Volle wanted one thing and one thing only: an unpowered fiberglass glider plane.

Towed behind a car to become airborne, the planes have fascinated Volle from a young age. As a child in Oakdale in the 1960s, he recalls watching them soar above the clouds at air shows he attended with his father as young as 6 years old.

“I just wanted to fly a plane,” he says. “I asked Santa every year and I never got it.”

His parents were definitely not as enthusiastic. No matter how badly he wanted to, cruising as high as 10,000 above the ground, possibly for hours at a time, before he was old enough to obtain his driver’s license was not the way the Volles wanted their son to spend his spare time.

“They were bad parents and never got me a plane,” he jokes.

More than 40 years later, Volle is still waiting to see the plane (or at least a replica) under the tree on Christmas morning. But these days, the chief is simply happy to enjoy the holiday season with his family.

“My wife and my kids always get me something and I always like what they get me,” he says.

Hoy shares those sentiments. His days of writing to Santa are distant memories, so helping his children prioritize their wish lists is its own gift, he says.

“I have two little kids, so my Christmases are centered around what they want.” •