Michael Schall Johnson

Christmas in Santa Claus Lane and Lemon Ice box Pie Michael Schall Johnson

Santa Claus Lane-Patrick McKeon was a lima bean farmer in 1948, in Carpinteria, CA. He started a juice stand, and named it, "Santa Claus" due to the popular usage of the name "Santa" throughout California. Then other Santa Cause related stuff started popping up around him, thus giving birth to Santa Claus Lane. There were train rides, European-style toy stores and Christmas themed restaurants. The festivities lasted 57 years. Then "Naughty" Developers decided to make it into a New England Style fishing village. Then more "Naughty" people, the property owners, got on board saying Santa Claus Lane had "lost its charm." Happily the "Nice" people saved the twenty-foot tall Santa figure from destruction. He was moved to Oxnard in 2003 and restored by the "Nice" people of the land. The beach still retains the Santa Claus name. This story is based on a true incident that happened in 1955. Lemon Ice Box Pie-An old man picked me up hitchhiking when I was 18 in the Nevada Desert, he was a fascinating character with lots of tales. This story was inspired by his stories that I enjoyed hearing, true or not. He was a slow ride in his old Model A, but he made up for it with his interesting tall tales. .... Michael