The whole thing started when John Kearney decided to grow a beard. To his surprise, it came in white.
That was in 1982, when Kearney was working as the president of a bank and the hair on his head, for the most part, was a youthful shade of reddish brown. But the beard was snow white, and it wasn't long before someone asked if Kearney would mind playing Santa Claus.
``So I did, and it was fun, and that launched my career,'' he said.
Now 74, he is long since retired from his job as a banker, but he could probably use a secretary to help schedule his time from mid-November through Christmas, particularly on weekends, which start getting booked as early as summer.
It's not just the beard that makes Kearney, a Havertown resident who works part-time as a court officer at the Delaware County Courthouse, the first choice of schools, charity groups and others who prefer a ``natural'' Santa.
With his white hair, ruddy complexion, twinkling blue eyes and pleasantly ample girth, Kearney is the image of Father Christmas, even when he's not wearing the red suit.
In the courthouse cafeteria or walking down the street, Kearney is frequently greeted by children with a ``Hi, Santa!'' and he never misses a beat in responding.
``I say, `You never thought you'd see me here, did you? Have you been a good boy this year?' You can see their eyes light up.''
Which is why he keeps playing Santa, each Christmas season finding him more in demand than the last. This year he'll make about 20 appearances at parties, schools and various nonprofit groups. For commercial ventures, Kearney asks to be paid, but mostly he gets a card or a glass of eggnog as thanks.
And as any good Santa will tell you, the job requires a degree of endurance, skill and etiquette. Never promise a gift, said Kearney, unless you have parental authorization. He has three red suits but always wears the oldest one for very small children, because with the excitement of seeing Santa, well, accidents happen.
One recent morning, after a children's Christmas party at St. Bernadette's School in Drexel Hill, Kearney wiped his brow and sipped coffee from his brocade throne.
Spice Girls dolls are big this year, he said, and so are blow-up chairs, and Power Rangers stuff is still getting a lot of requests among boys. ``And even the kindergartners want computers now,'' he said.
