Charles City Santa House goes to the workshop

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

Santa House is getting a facelift courtesy of the NIACC Building and Trades class.

Serving as Santa Claus’ home away from the North Pole when he visits Charles City, it has been many years since the building has had substantial work done on it.

“It’s been showing its age,” said Community Development Director Mark Wicks. “Just this last winter one of the doors had shifted so we couldn’t lock it.”

Used by both the Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Charles City, the Santa House has to be moved by forklift every year when it is set-up in Central Park. That, over time, has caused wear and tear on the building.

The Santa House doesn’t just see use in the winter months either. During the summer, when Santa is away, the Chamber uses the building as storage for summer events.

With the building in need of restoration and repair, the Building and Trades class at the NIACC Career Center has been using the building as a learning experience. The Chamber and Main Street have donated the materials while the class members donated their time to get the building fixed up.

“Everything has been shored up and reinforced,” said Wicks.

The building has new corner beams, doors, and locks, and will eventually be getting a new coat of paint and decorations before it returns to use.

Along with refurbishing the Santa House, the building and trades class members have also dedicated their time to installing new shelving in the Chamber’s garage, creating extra room for storage and making things easier on the backs of volunteers.

“It was a fairly simple project, but it is a great chance for students to do some work in the community,” said instructor Sawyer Smith. “Overall, the shelves went well, and we hope to be able to do more work with the Chamber in the future. As for the Santa Shed, it is currently in our parking lot as we are making repairs. We are doing what we can to replace rotten areas and make sure the shed can still be utilized for years to come.”

“I am so excited about that,” said Wicks. “We’re very appreciative. They do good work.”