Faces of the holidays

Story by Barry Kaufman + Photography by Lisa Staff

When you live in a place like the Lowcountry, where winter weather often feels more like spring, it requires a little more holiday magic to get into the spirit of the season. Since we can’t build snowmen, warm ourselves around the fire or take a holly-jolly sleigh ride, we’ve developed our own way of ringing in the Yuletide.

We do it by deepening our connection with our neighbors, recognizing that the spirit of our community is one that reflects the best of the holidays. We are a community built on giving. We’re a community built on spreading cheer. Around here the real holiday spirit comes from each of us. 

But some of us do a bit more to pull the sleigh than others, and as the season approaches, we now officially put these locals on the nice list.

Santa Claus

This jolly icon of the North Pole brings magic to the Lowcountry each year.

This time of year Santa has a lot of helpers. You’ll find them at community events, shopping centers and in commercials, filling in for the big guy in red while he’s busy keeping the elves in line.

But what if, among that legion of helpers, Santa was able to slip out of the North Pole unnoticed and do a little boots-on-the-ground spreading of cheer? Would you even know if the real Santa was the one handing you a candy cane during the parade? 

It’s a tantalizing possibility, and one that we can’t help but feel is true. We’ll say it – yes, Victoria, there is a Santa Claus. And we’re fairly certain he lives in Bluffton.

“I’m pretty much incognito when I’m around town, unless it’s during the holidays,” said Bluffton’s own Santa Claus, who made his way to the area in 1998. “Then I do a lot of events around town. I try and give back to the community.”

That includes attending private events and parties, but it also includes working with organizations that warm his jolly heart, like SOAR Special Recreation. A part of the Special Olympics, the group puts on its annual bowling event for children with disabilities, and Santa proudly attends each year to roll the first rock down the lane.

“I love that they invite me back, even though I’m a terrible bowler,” he said with a ho ho ho. “Thankfully, the kids don’t care.”

They’re just happy that their town has its own ambassador to the North Pole and that the big man himself is here in person to take all their requests for what they’ll find under the tree. 

“I get a lot of requests for pets, and I’m always careful. I always tell them, ‘Let me see what I can do, but I guarantee you’re going to love what you get,’” he said. “And then you have children who see me when things aren’t so great or when they’re in the hospital. In moments like those, the best gift I can give them is a smile, a hug and reassurance that they’re going to be OK.”

And that, ultimately, is what makes our Santa the real Santa. Because at the core of what St. Nick represents is the beautiful way this season brings out the best in us, urging us to give a little more, be a little bit more present for those who need us most and to shine a little brighter for anyone who might be struggling in the dark.

“The focus isn’t on me. The focus is on the joy of the season,” he said. “Even though some people might have different situations, there’s always something we can find joy in. Trying to tap into that is what I do for kids and parents.”

Notes from the North Pole

One of the hardest parts of being a parent around Christmastime is fielding questions from curious kids about how exactly the whole holiday works. How is Santa able to visit all those homes in one night? How does he decide who’s naughty or nice? Do the elves get a day off? How naughty do you have to be to make the list? Why does Rudolph’s nose glow? Seriously, is there some kind of appeals court for the naughty list? 

The fact is, it’s as much a mystery to parents as it is to kids. But when you have direct access to the man himself, there are things you have to ask. 

Q: Who is the most difficult reindeer to rein in? A: Rudolph always thinks he’s the boss because he has his own cartoon, and he’s a bit of a prankster. The older guys like Prancer and Dancer, they don’t put up with him. But they all come together on Christmas Eve to get it done.

Q: What do you tell a kid who’s on the naughty list when he asks which list he’s on? A: I tell them, “If you’re asking, that tells me you have a good idea already.” But I’ll also remind them there’s always time to turn things around. That motivates them.

Q: What’s your favorite cookie? A: I love chocolate chip, but Mrs. Claus is very strict about me not getting any chocolate on my white fur, so I stick with the traditional sugar cookie to keep the peace. 

Q: Why didn’t I get the USS Flagg G.I. Joe playset in 1987?

A: Do you remember which list you were on in 1987?

Mark Trivett

This North Carolina tree farmer brings evergreen joy to Hilton Head Island each year.

Perhaps no symbol of Christmas is as enduring as the Christmas tree. Before the first carol had been written, before the first twinkle light was ever strung, there was the medieval “paradise tree.” And its origins may stretch even further back, with druids, Vikings and Romans all holding evergreens as a sacred winter tradition.

It’s a tradition that has withstood the test of time, as few have. But endurance is what sets the evergreen apart. When other trees might lose leaves, wither and die in the bitter cold, their verdant majesty remains year-round. That pertinacity, that resolve to keep growing no matter the circumstances, is as true for Christmas trees as it is for the people who grow them. Mark Trivett, the owner of Sugar Mountain Farms in Newland, North Carolina, is proof of that.

Like so many of his neighbors in North Carolina, Trivett has endured through the gut-wrenching devastation of Hurricane Helene. The storm raged, the waters surged, but his trees, like his resolve, remain.

“We’re still trying to get utilities back on,” he said when interviewed in early November. “Part of the town still doesn’t have water. My father-in-law lost all of his greenhouses and a lot of his bottom land where he had Christmas trees. They’re all sideways.”

Like his father-in-law, and like his own father, Trivett is a Christmas tree farmer, growing towering Fraser firs on his high country farm. For 28 years he’s carried on a legacy of farming the fertile soil of the Blue Ridge Mountains. As demand for tobacco waned and farmers sought new crops to plant, this area’s microclimate proved itself to be ideally suited for Christmas trees. 

It was Trivett’s father who started the tree farm, working with a partner who had a few connections to a little island with huge Christmas spirit. 

“My dad’s business partner’s roommate was affiliated with Hilton Head Island High School, and they were looking for some type of fundraiser,” he said. “That’s how it started out. It’s a good time and it’s been great to build that relationship with the people down there.”

Every year starting in November, Trivett begins hauling his firs down the mountain to his own spot behind the Island Rec Center on Wilborn Road, selling the trees along with wreaths and roping made from their discarded boughs. His wife and three sons spend the holidays on Hilton Head, traveling back to restock when their supply of 200 or so trees runs low.

“We cut our own trees, haul them on our trucks and bring them to the coast. When we’re setting up, the trees have only been cut a week,” he said. “When we put them out to display, they are fresh cut and in water the entire time.”

The result is a tree so fresh, it’s the closest thing to marching into the woods and cutting it down yourself. The difference being, these trees help a family farm rebuild and remind an entire community that built its fortunes on the strength of the evergreen that we are here for them. We will give these trees good homes so that the grand tradition grown in the mountains can endure.

Strong roots

Now in his 28th year as a Christmas tree farmer, Mark Trivett has seen firsthand the patience and perseverance it requires to bring families the perfect tree every year. Like so many of his fellow tree farmers, the season is just a small part of the bigger picture – he grows a lot of nursery trees during the off-season while also working in construction. 

And even in a normal year, one where a devastating hurricane hasn’t kneecapped the entire growing season, Christmas trees are an exercise in playing the long game.

“I buy them when they’re about 1-2 years old, and we space them about 2-3 inches apart for two years. After that, we’ll plant them on a five-by-five grid where they’ll stay for 6-7 years. Usually by the eighth year we’ll have a market-sized tree,” he said. As for those massive 30-foot trees you’ll see Trivett hauling down, those can take anywhere from 25-30 years. “That’s a big investment, so you don’t cut that down until you know you’re going to sell it.”

As he waits for those trees to grow, he diversifies with pumpkins, potatoes and side hustles. “It would be a tough thing to just grow Christmas trees,” he said. “I’ve grown a little bit of everything through the years. But the tree lot is a fun thing for us.”

Larry Sanders

This dedicated bell-ringer embodies the true spirit of Christmas giving.

At its core, Christmas is a season of giving. 

Yes, it’s a celebration of Christ, but more to the point, it’s a test of whether we can match his grace. It’s a challenge to us all to think on the teachings of Christianity and reflect them in everything we do. Even for non-Christians, the secular aspects of the holiday set it apart as a time when our innate goodness and charity shine a little brighter.

If you ever want to see those divine aspects of the human condition shining brightest, just follow the sound of a bell ringing as it echoes across the Sam’s Club parking lot in Bluffton. At the source of that toll you’ll find Larry Sanders, decked out in his signature Santa hat, ringing that bell as part of a lifelong devotion to service.

“I am dedicated to service above self,” he said, reflecting the motto of the Rotary Club of Hilton Head Island, where he’s been an active member for 20 years. “Every year Rotary commits to so many hours, and as soon as that schedule comes out, I sign up. Rain or shine, I’m standing in front of Sam’s Club.”

Before it was the Sam’s Club in Bluffton, it was the Sam’s Club on Hilton Head Island. His group of bell ringers have also rung in front of Walmart, Kroger and Walgreens, raising between $25,000 and $30,000 per year for the Salvation Army. 

To hear Sanders talk about, it almost doesn’t even sound like service. He views those hours out in front of Sam’s Club, collecting funds for the Salvation Army in the driving rain or bone-chilling cold, as a privilege. “I love the engagement with people you get. I love the stories they tell me about what the Salvation Army has meant to them.”

It’s a seasonal expression of the lifelong dedication Sanders has shown to serving others. Even before leaving the corporate world behind, where he spent 30 years in the pharmaceutical industry, he was already dedicated to service as a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi. Involved early on with the service-oriented fraternity, he was rising to local and national positions while he built his career. 

“Out of the 30 years I worked, I spent 21 years traveling internationally launching the global branding for the multivitamin Centrum,” he said. “I took that all around the world, and that was my swan song, so to speak.”

Going out on top after building Centrum into a global brand, he retired to the Lowcountry with the intention of putting his feet up and maybe getting some golf in. He also intended to devote more time to his passion for freelance photography. But that pull to service was too strong.

“I stopped playing golf because I realized it wasn’t delivering on that promise,” he said. “The five hours roughly that I was spending on the golf course, I consider a waste of resources, money and quality time. I was missing out on stuff that I really wanted to do.”

He quickly became involved with Hilton Head Regional Habitat for Humanity of the Lowcountry, helping with the annual golf tournament. Before long, he took on a leadership role, serving as chair and coordinator of the event for an impressive 18 years. The tournament contributed to the construction of 13 new homes. In recognition of his dedication, an upcoming house will be named in Larry’s honor.

His involvement grew steadily, leading him to roles such as a member of the Rotary Club of Hilton Head Island, a seven-year volunteer on the Board of Governors for Novant Health at Hilton Head Hospital and a 12-year tenure as a Lay Leader at the Church of the Palms United Methodist Church.

“Rotary became a love… because it fell in with my training as a biblical person,” he said. “The Bible says that we are supposed to give. It’s better to give than to receive.”

You can find out how much better it is to give right out front of Sam’s Club. Just listen for the bell.

Service above self

Before he could become a whirlwind force for positive change, Larry Sanders had to pursue the kind of success that allowed him to give back so freely. 

It wasn’t an easy road to get there. Larry lost his mother when he was just 3 years old. He and his 5-year-old sister, Aurelia, went to live with their grandparents.  

“They could barely read,” Larry said. “They could read the Bible, but if you put a real serious manuscript in front of them, it was hard.”

Still, he overcame those humble beginnings to graduate from Knoxville College and pursue post-graduate studies at Fairleigh-Dickinson. And when corporate America caught wind of his talents, he was ready to grab the opportunity with both hands.

“My formula is P, preparation, plus O, opportunity, equals S, success,” he said. “I’ve carried that with me all my life. I didn’t get here not being prepared.”

And for someone who has always lived by the motto “service above self,” even before becoming involved with the Rotary Club of Hilton Head Island, that success has only enriched his life by allowing him to give back. “I’m truly humbled by what happens every day in terms of still being able to do what I do and hopefully make a difference in some people’s lives.”