Jolly old elf for the Polar Express on track to happiness
Chuck Rector used to be a bah humbug guy.
That all changed when he became a Polar Express train Santa Claus on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad five years ago.
Since then, Christmas and Santa Claus took on new meaning. 
Rector, 57, of Barberton, the operations manager for Metro Regional Transit, is one of many Santas who take part in the popular holiday train excursion.
Q: How did you become a Polar Express Santa?
A: Sue Round was marketing director for the Cuyahoga Valley. She said to my boss, Bob Pfaff, 'I'm in a pinch. I want you to be Santa. We don't have a Santa.' Bob said to me, go ahead and do it.
Q: Had you ever been on the Polar Express train?
A: I never did Santa before and I never had been on the Polar Express. I was always a bah humbug person. My son never liked Santa. Now I go down to my son's
home in North Carolina and I am Santa for my grandson, Owen.
Q: So this opened a door?
A: Yes. I had to change into my Santa suit beneath the engine. That is where you had to change. I said you gotta be kidding. The smell of diesel fumes. I was sick before I walked in. But I did it. As soon as I walked in the door, the kids lit up.
Q: What was it like?
A: The looks on the kids' faces. There is Santa. It was controlled chaos. I didn't even know what to do. Sue said just be yourself. Talk to the kids. So I talked to the kids about the story. . . . You can't go too fast or too slow. The whole time I am thinking, this isn't bad. By the time I was done, I had fun.
Q: Are you moved by what you see on the train?
A: I worked all day today (a night in mid-December prior to the running of the train). I'm tired. I get out here. You put on that outfit and you change. It's unreal.
Q: So you become a different guy?
A: I am excited for the kids. I think of the families. They do a lottery for tickets. There have been families trying for years to get on the train and I am thinking to myself they are here. It's a one-shot deal. I am gonna give it my best. People bring on little babies and they want to shove the little baby in my arms. I am a different person. I'm not Chuck. I'm Santa.
Q: There must have been some remarkable moments that stand out?
A: I remember one boy was in a wheelchair. That was special to be able to spend some time with him. I cried at that one. He was so excited.
Q: When you are on the train and it is moving through the night, do you feel like you are in some type of story book world?
A: I do. They've been read the story on the way out. I am stepping into their fantasy world. Hey, that story is true. There is Santa. I am physically exhausted by the time I get through.
Q: Why?
A: You are up and down. I always wear a shirt and shorts underneath, It soaks up the sweat. My wife can't believe it. I get home and she looks at that shirt and it is soaking wet. It is so emotional and physical. You are lifting kids. I had one kid where the mother said he was 7. He had to weigh 150 pounds. He wanted Santa to pick him up and I did.
Q: What is the key to being a good Santa?
A: Listen to the kids. Don't just talk to them and brush by them. A special moment was last week. A little girl, 9 or 10, very quiet. I said what would you like for Christmas. She said, ''I don't need anything.'' She said, ''I have everything I need.'' I thought, this is so profound. . . I was taken aback. I thought the troubles in the world today and you get to meet kids like this. If adults could be more childlike, like these kids.
Q: Did you believe in Santa as a kid and do you now?
A: The spirit of Santa is out there and the spirit comes in when I put that outfit on. I don't care how tired I am, if I have a rough day at work, once I get that outfit on, boom, I get energized.
By Jim Carney
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Monday, Dec 24, 2007
Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.
