Sew magic: Santa has a new suit

By Dixon Bledsoe

How fortunate Lenora Moses moved to Silverton, otherwise Santa might have been spreading joy in an old flannel shirt or some other substandard fabric that would test the bounds of believability.

Moses, a talented seamstress and baker of cinnamon rolls who moved to Silverton from Texas in 2002, was asked by St. Nick’s wife to create a new Santa suit.

Time was of the essence.

“It is turning out just beautifully. The material was $11.99 a yard so it is really nice and made to last,” Moses said. “Some suits are made of really poor quality. This one has a little extra padding around the middle, hooks and straps so that the belly doesn’t slip, and really pretty ‘grizzly’ fur on the top of his boots, around his collar and hat, with a ball dangling from his hat.”

Moses is not new to helping the jolly old elf become properly suited for the busy holiday season.

She met Santa several years ago in Texas when his tired suit was in dire need of repair. The first suit, made of poor fabric that he brought in, didn’t last too long, but the second suit made of great material turned out beautiful and came in around $150.

It seems Santa was a biker, too, and had an affinity for Mrs. Claus’ good cooking. He also had a tendency to wear out suits quickly. He and his wife were asked to visit Moses’ grandkids, and one of her granddaughters was instantly enamored.

“Her little head popped back, her eyes got as big as saucers, especially since he knew her name,” Moses said.

When Moses’s granddaughter asked her if Santa came to her house on his Harley, she said with a twinkle in her voice, “Not at all. He was on his sleigh, of course!”

It seems Santa is soon to surface in Silverton, said his booking agent, Nick Robinson.

The annual Silverton United Methodist Church Bazaar is a scheduled stop, and Santa will have his Moses-made designer suit with matching large and small bags in tow for gifts and door prizes. The event is 4 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 3 and again from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4 at the church, 203 W. Main St.

There will be a bake sale, including Moses’ cinnamon rolls and offerings from other bakers. “Those ladies really know how to cook,” Moses said.

There will be several vendors, a “Gramma’s Attic” with lots of things for sale, and food.

Moses has three sons, a daughter, a granddaughter, and a great granddaughter. She was married to her husband, Willie, for 50 years, and was fortunate to see him witness the turn of the century and their 50th wedding anniversary before he passed away the day after Thanksgiving in 2000.

“Silverton is the prettiest little town I’ve ever lived in,” she said, adding she thoroughly enjoys the lifestyle here. She is not only a talented seamstress, sewing for the public since 1963, but is in the Silverton Hospital Auxiliary, works in the Care Van office as a dispatcher, sings in the church choir, and is a member of the singing Silvertones.

But this Christmas, she will be the one talked about for years to come as the woman who provided Santa with his new suit. Just in time, too.