Santa Larry unwelcome at Fountain Square this year

Larry Conder owns a T-shirt highlighting the four phases of Santa.

Phase one: you believe. Phase two: you don’t. Phase three: you play Santa. Phase four: you look like Santa.

For Conder, who prefers to be called “Santa Larry,” these words represent far more than a T-shirt slogan — they represent a lifestyle.

Conder served as resident Santa Claus at Bloomington’s Fountain Square Mall for 12 years and spends the whole year in the Santa mindset.

“If you want to be Santa, you don’t just throw a suit on and say ‘ho ho ho,’”
Conder said.

In fact, he spends a great deal of time doing research to prepare for the holiday season because, when children come to visit Santa, they come with questions.

“You’ve got to do the research,” he said. “You go in to talk to somebody and a child comes in...their perspective on life is very different.”

Conder has had the opportunity to interact with thousands of children throughout the last 20 years and has many stories to share, both surprising and heartwarming.

Though Conder said he enjoyed the experience of being Santa, he will not be returning to Fountain Square Mall for the upcoming 2012-13 holiday season.

Reasons for the split between Conder and CFC, the company that runs Fountain Square Mall, remain unclear. Conder said the business found a replacement Santa this year and he was never contacted.

CFC representatives could not be reached for comment.

One thing is for certain: there are families that are unhappy to see Conder go. Most expressed disappointment, while others simply refused to return to Fountain Square in his absence.

“My family was very disappointed to find out that Larry was not asked to be Santa again this year,” said Cassie Naugle, a mother who visited Conder at Fountain Square Mall for several years.

Naugle said her family was unlikely to return to Fountain Square Mall in the wake of Conder’s departure and that they were hoping to see him in another location.

“We will go see Larry if he can set up somewhere else,” Naugle said. “If not, we will be seeing the dreaded mall Santa.”

For one family, not visiting Fountain Square Mall to see Conder was not the only way to demonstrate their disapproval. Barb Ooley said her family did not attend the Canopy of Lights event in downtown Bloomington this year in Conder’s absence. 

“(The lighting ceremony) always meant that the ‘real Santa’ was finally in Bloomington,” Ooley said in an email. “We will not be seeing Santa this year unless the ‘real Santa’ is able to make an appearance somewhere else in the county.”

Several families, including the Naugle and Ooley families, were involved in the organization of another project to keep Conder in the red suit.

The project was started when Missy Waldon, a longtime friend of the Conder family, heard of his departure from Fountain Square Mall. Waldon said she messaged several of her Facebook friends and the group began to plan a day in which families could continue their tradition of visiting Conder.

Now, Conder will suit up once again from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Dec. 22 at the 4-H Building at the Monroe County Fairgrounds. There will be no cost to attend or to have pictures taken, but the group is asking for a donation of $5 for each photo.

“Any donations we receive will go to a needy family identified by some teachers or churches in the area,” Waldon said after the initial planning meeting.

She said the group plans to support more than one family if enough money is raised.

For the families involved in the planning, it is all about allowing more people to interact with Conder, who some families credit as having a large impact on their holiday traditions.

“I would just like to thank Larry for all of the care that he put into being Santa,” Naugle said. “It was always such a positive experience and it makes me sad that so many kids won’t get to have the experience of visiting Santa Larry.”

There have been many families like Naugle’s come in and out of Fountain Square Mall to visit Santa Larry during the years, each responding to the quintessential Santa question: what do you want for Christmas?

He said all he wants is for the perfectionists in the world to stop worrying about the little things during the holiday season and just enjoy the time they have with their families.

“Nothing goes perfect,” he said. “It’s why I’ve got to mend the harnesses on the reindeer every year.”