My Wolf and Dessauer Ornament

Wolf and Dessauer is as synonymous with Christmas in Fort Wayne as Marshall Fields is with Chicago.

The upscale department store was the place to shop in downtown Fort Wayne for decades and many people have fond memories of it. Most of those memories revolve around Christmastime when Wolf and Dessauer would transform into a scene straight out of A Christmas Story with magical animatronic displays in their windows and a gigantic lighted Santa and a midcentury modern Merry Christmas Wreath on the sides of their building.

The Santa display has quite a history in our town and people still come from far and wide to see it. It's not Christmas in Fort Wayne until Santa is lit! A few weeks before Thanksgiving he starts to go up and you can feel the magic in the air that Christmas is near!

W&D, as they are known, first displayed their massive five ton lighted Santa in 1940 and he appeared at Christmastime for almost twenty years. Somehow, when W&D moved, Santa got lost in the hustle and bustle, and it wasn't until 1979 that he was found in bad shape in an abandoned warehouse! Can you imagine?

By the Christmas of 1980, Santa was restored and put on the side of one of Fort Wayne's tallest buildings, where he has remained ever since! The W&D wreath went on another building, and I may actually like the wreath better than Santa, because you know how I like wreaths. But, Santa brings me much more fond childhood memories of driving by him on our way to school. Plus, you know, it's SANTA!

About ten years ago, Santa's 25,000 lightbulbs went from the old incandescent kind to LED and someone had the great idea to turn the old bulbs into ornaments! 

I first discovered that these ornaments were on the loose in Fort Wayne a few years ago and I knew I had to get my hands on one! I love Fort Wayne history, and to own such an iconic piece of it was just too much! I really had no idea how or where to find one of the ornaments and I have been scouring the internet for one of Santa's bulbs for years to no avail.

Finally, one day last week I happened to read in the Journal-Gazette that the Fort Wayne Museum of Art was selling them in their gift shop! I could not wait to get out of work and hightail it over there. I had only seen the red ornaments before so I assumed that they would be red. When I got there I was informed that they only had white and orange bulbs left. 

Now, I'll admit, I was a little disappointed. I wanted red! I love anything red and it's just such a perfect Christmasy color! I thought about it and decided that a white bulb would really pop on my green Christmas tree, even more so than a red one. Plus, a white lightbulb could have come from Santa's beard or even one of the reindeer! So I got white. And I love it!

I am so happy that I finally have one of these ornaments! It's truly become one of my cherished items already. Now a piece of Fort Wayne history will live on forever on my Christmas tree!

Here's the old Wolf and Dessauer Santa being put up with a crane on Main St. in downtown Fort Wayne a few weeks before Thanksgiving this year.

Santa in all his glory! His whip and sleigh blink and "move," that's why in this shot it looks burned out.

Off to deliver presents to all the good children in Fort Wayne!

This is the W&D wreath, which now hangs on Wayne Street. I'd love to have this at my house!

My long-awaited ornament!

Here is a picture from the ornament box of Santa hanging on the Wolf and Dessauer building.

Now hanging proudly on my Christmas tree!

Can you find it?!?

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!