Maskless Santa evicted from his Paso Robles house — but you might still see him around
Just days before Christmas, Paso Robles’ Santa Claus mysteriously went missing from his tiny house downtown.
It turns out, even Santa must follow coronavirus safety protocols this year.
Charles Themens had been dressing up for weeks as the beloved Christmas icon and greeting visitors in a small Victorian house set up in Downtown City Park — but he hadn’t been wearing a mask or adhering to COVID-19 social distancing requirements.
On Saturday, children posed close to Themens while parents took their photo.
“This year especially, more than ever, the children need a live Santa,” Themens told The Tribune. “And they need a Santa that they can see, and that’s the reason I don’t have my mask on. I get checked often, I’m not positive for corona, and I’m not worried about contracting it from the children, especially.”
At the time, Themens said no one had said anything to him about his lack of a face mask. At least a dozen children had told him their Christmas wish was for the COVID-19 pandemic to be over, he said.
“A lot of them have asked for the corona to be gone, so I tell them we’ll pray about it and hopefully it will be,” he said.
But by Tuesday, Themens was no longer greeting children in the park, prompting questions on social media.
The city had to issue the Downtown Main Street Association an event permit for the Santa Claus setup, which included mask-wearing and social distancing requirements, City Manager Tom Frutchey said.
However, after photos showing a maskless Santa and a lack of social distancing began appearing, it became clear the safety protocols weren’t working, Frutchey said. After continued consultation with the city, the Main Street Association then decided to end the visits, he said.
“It’s just unfortunate that the reasonable solution didn’t appear to be adhered to,” he said.
Paso Robles police Cmdr. Caleb Davis said city law enforcement had received a call from the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department about a potential party involving Santa Claus, but not about Themens downtown.
Someone had seen a social media post advertising the party and had called the Public Health Department, Davis said. Police then contacted the party organizers to advise them about COVID-19 safety.
“We just made a phone call saying, ‘Hey, we’d like to educate you on the rules,’” he said.
The only interaction between Themens and police occurred when he stopped by the station to tell officers he would no longer be sitting in the booth, but he would be visiting downtown businesses instead, Davis said.
Mayor Steve Martin said he wanted Paso Robles residents to know the city didn’t shut down Santa, and he would be willing to assist with a safer visiting set-up.
“I’m happy to help Santa with an alternate way to greet the kiddies this year,” Martin said.
This story was originally published December 22, 2020 at 2:59 PM.
