Around the same time, I also learned that Mr. Montgomery was an employee at The Intelligencer. Then, this March, I happened across a yellowed envelope of negatives — his employee photos.
I have to say: If I was around in 1966, I would have had the hugest crush on this man. Goodness.
(Click the photos for a larger view.)
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |
Many of you who either raised children in Central Bucks or were children here yourselves might remember the very real Santa who would take up residence in a tiny Doylestown cottage every December. A long line of parents and children, their usual exuberance replaced by a solemn sort of respect, would curl around the block, clutching lists and craning necks to get a glimpse of Santa Claus, aka Kris Kringle, aka Stewart G. Montgomery.
If Mr. Montgomery couldn’t assure children that, once and for all, Santa was indeed very real, no one could. As a little girl I was utterly convinced by his fluffy white beard, sweetly beaming grin, and above all his laugh, which was genuine and true and from the heart.
And if I happened to spot Santa around town now and then during the warmer months (Montgomery also played the bagpipe, volunteered with the Point Pleasant Ambulance Corps, was a radio announcer and happened to be the bus driver for my summer camp), well, it was nice to know that Santa was a well-rounded character.
The last time I saw him I was 12 years old, which might have been, admittedly, a little too old to sit on Santa’s lap. This time, though, I had a gift for him — an old snapshot of myself as a toddler, staring up at Santa with total worship. He beamed at me sweetly and I hugged him.
Years later, my mother sent me a newspaper clipping in the mail. At age 80, Stewart G. Montgomery had finally gone home. I was heartbroken. I probably always will be, a little.
Thank you, Santa.
— Rayna Polsky, Intelligencer Librarian
2 Responses to “From the archives: Remembering Mr. Montgomery”
1. L. Fluehr Says:
December 24th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
I remember Mr. Montgomery as a teen at both Tamanend and East. As a mother, I took my young sons (now 18 and 22) to see him as Santa in Doylestown. God Bless his memory as my memory of him is filled with love, thanks and praise. It does take a village.
2. Mark Glidden Says:
December 9th, 2009 at 10:08 am
Mr Montgomery, (only a few people my age called him Stu and only if they were very sure he couldnt hear them) was my school bus driver when I was a student at CB East in the 70’s. He was noted for his intolerance to horseplay on the bus and would regularly stop the bus in the middle of the road and stand up, turn around and walk slowly down the aisle of the bus as he would describe why he had stopped the bus (usually someone has used a curse word or perhaps had thrown a ball of paper or spitball in the general direction of the driver) and then proceed to detail what would happen to the person who had perpetrated this act (he would threaten to drag them into the principals office by the ear and at least once or twice a year he would make good on that threat!). Later on when my kids were small we would take them to sit on Santa’s lap and I would loved it; Santa would not read his book to them until they were quite and respectful and it allowed me to re-live those days on the school bus all over again!
Mr Montgomery was one of a kind; I am so glad he was a part of my life for the time he was!
No comments:
Post a Comment