The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1064171
D-16 Christmas Greetings Wednesday, December 19, 2018 The Press-Dispatch MKT-9811A-A www.edwardjones.com Member SIPC Tom Willis Financial Advisor 801 N Vincennes Avenue Petersburg, IN 47567 812-354-9950 By Andy Heuring Christmas parade goers, for the last six decades, have en- joyed Santa in his sleigh at the Petersburg parade. While the Santas have changed numer- ous times over the decades, one thing still remains the same, Santa's sleigh. Louis Lamb built the sled for his wife, Mil- dred Lamb. She was a member of the PSI OTES sorority. They acted as Santa's elves, escorting him down Main St. and handing out candy. "Christmas was always a special time for grandfather," said David Jochim. Over the decades, Santa's sleigh began to show the ef- fects of time and weather. It had been stored in various places by different people. Some years, it was stored in an open air build- ing, which allowed weather to take its toll. The sleigh passed through several hands and eventually, Carol Sue Sutton was storing it. She knew Jochim was a grand- son of Louis Lamb, who built the sleigh in the mid-1960s. Jochim said when Sutton called him about four years ago, he had almost forgotten about it. "I said, 'My grandfa- ther's sleigh is still around? ' I said, 'I'd like to have it.'" Jochim said it brought back a lot of memories for him, espe- cially of his grandfather. He recalled stories about his grandfather and great-grandfa- ther. Lamb farmed about 800 acres and operated a toma- to canning factory. The Lamb Addition was named after him. Jochim said Lamb was an excellent woodworker. Along with building his house, he made most of the furniture in the house. So building a sleigh was no big deal for him. Since Jochim took posses- sion of the sleigh, he put new tires on it, but didn't get real serious about restoring it un- til this year. Jochim said Lamb made it out of an old haywagon, so the substructure was heavy duty and has held up through the years. "Our grandfather was a very knowledgeable, hardworking, generous and thoughtful per- son to everyone and the sleigh was just one of the ways of showing his love to his family and sharing it with everyone in the community," said Jochim. Jochim's uncle also made an item for the parade. It was less Christmas, more novelty. Jochim said Bill Lamb made a rocket with lights on it that was on a turntable and would spin. "It was really neat." It was used in the parade sev- eral years, but Jochim said he doesn't know where that end- ed up. "When I got the sleigh, it had a lot of rotten boards. I had to tear off the back and the front, and restore and sand it down." He said it was made out of lumber from an old barn that was tongue and groove. He said it was original- ly white. And at one time, his mother, Luella, had painted garland onto the white. But through the years, it got re- painted red with silver trim. "I painted it red. Most of the sleighs I have seen are red." Instead of the silver trim, he changed the trim to gold. He said he had collected some trim wood pieces that resembled rope. It had been in his attic for a while. "My wife had been onto me about getting that out of the attic. I thought of it and thought it would look like a candy cane, and thought that would be neat." So he got it out, added it to the sleigh and painted it gold. He made things easier on Santa as well. While it used to just have a 2x12 for seats, Jo- chim put in padded seats. "It is an old hay wagon. So I can only pull it about 20 or 30 mph before it starts swaying back and forth." Jochim and his siblings, Sharon Elkins, Gary Jochim and Leslie Elmore decided to put a plaque on the back of the sleigh. It states: In Memory of Louis "Daddy Lou" Lam,b a gift to Mildred "Monie" Lamb. He has more plans for it than just using it in the parade. He hopes to take his family carol- ing in it this year if the weath- er improves. He also has more plans for restoration. In the future, he is wanting to put a generator in it so he can put lights on it, with the hopes that it will con- tinue for another 50 or so years bringing Santa Claus to town, like it has in Petersburg since the early 1960s. RESTORED Jochim revitalizes his grandfather's sleigh for a new generation of parade-goers Louis Lamb built the sleigh that brings Santa down Main St. each year during Christmas parade since the early 1960s. The sleigh in its newly restored condition with the Jochim siblings, who are Lamb's grandchildren David, Sharon Elkins, Gary and Leslie Elmore. Santa Claus waves to the crowd from Jochim's newly restored sleigh while making his annual appearance in the Petersburg Christmas Parade on Dec. 1.