Philipsburg’s beloved big Santa was destroyed last winter. How it came back to life

Last December, heavy winds caused Philipsburg’s beloved 63-year-old, 37 1/2-foot-tall Santa Claus display to collapse in on itself like an accordion, causing irreparable damage. But just in time for the holiday season, the giant landmark has been rebuilt in a volunteer effort that stretched across the community.

The rebuilt Christmas icon will soon be erected along U.S. Route 322 at Cold Stream Dam and Recreation Park in Philipsburg, according to John Herrington, who is a member of the Philipsburg Elks Lodge & Country Club, the organization that sets up and maintains the display every year. It’s the same location where the beloved display known as the “tallest Santa in Pennsylvania” fell last year, but Herrington said moving Santa wasn’t something they considered for long.

“We’d given some thought to moving Santa, but we just couldn’t think of a better place for him, where he’d be as easily seen as he is now,” Herrington said. “Yeah there’s wind and moisture coming off of the dam that’ll hit him, but no other spot around town fits him as well as the park does.”

This most recent rebuild of the Santa display is the second that Herrington has experienced. The first was in 2005 after a similar incident. Back then, it was rebuilt entirely from scratch, by hand, to within an eighth of an inch from the original’s dimensions.

This time around, the rebuilding process was made much easier by referencing information saved from the first rebuild. Donations of wood, paint and hardware from Lezzer Lumber of Curwensville, Sherwin Williams and Philipsburg-based Lee Industries helped. As did an outpouring of support and resources from community members, along with an innovative idea from local tattoo artist Tyler Walstrom, the owner of Rock and Ruthless Tattoo Parlor.

“Instead of doing the repainting how a drafting man would do it — carefully transferring the reference lines over to new display — [Walstrom] had the idea of using large sheets of tracing paper,” Herrington said. “Once we got all the pieces cut out, [Walstrom] traced the reference lines on the paper with a graphite pencil, flipped the paper over and re-traced the lines on the back of the paper overtop of the wood, leaving an exact replica.”

Santa’s design was painted on after the tracing, followed by two coats of primer. From there, the back of Santa was painted black, with all joints being caulked to prevent water from seeping into them.

Additional structure-reinforcing hardware has also been added to the back of the display. All reconstruction work was done between September and now, as it took nine months to secure all the resources necessary for the rebuild.

All that’s left to do is for the pieces of the display to be taken to Cold Stream and set up. Herrington told the CDT that the erecting of the display would start between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 28, and would likely last until sundown.

He would also like to hold a dedication ceremony in early December to commemorate the winter landmark, which has been etched into the memories of residents and visitors since it was first built and displayed in 1962 by artist Billy Adams.

“People around here know that the Christmas season is starting whenever [the Santa display] goes up, and people that travel through here carry memories of it with them when they leave,” Herrington said. “People have told me things like them remembering Santa from when they were in fourth grade, or from when they visited their aunt in Philipsburg — it’s almost become sort of ingrained in the fabric of this town.”

Future updates on when the big Santa will be erected and the dedication ceremony will be made available on Herrington’s Facebook page. Visitors can also check out Santa during the Philipsburg Mid-Century Christmas event on Dec. 13.

This story was originally published November 26, 2025 at 5:30 AM.