Editor’s note: The Suffolk News-Herald has been sharing Christmas memories of local people throughout the holiday season to promote the Cheer Fund, which collects donations to purchase toys for local children on Christmas. This week, we have an interview with a very special character who’s decidedly not local but still embodies the Christmas spirit, conducted by Cheer Fund board member Margie Wiley.

By Margie Wiley

Special to the News-Herald

It is not every day you get to interview a true icon, but this week I had that opportunity.

From the comfort of his cozy barn at the North Pole, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was nice enough to answer some of my questions, share memories and discuss what the Christmas spirit means to him.

Operator: “Hello, North Pole, how may I direct your call?”

M: “Um, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, please.”

Operator: “Hold, please.”

Hold music plays: “…..Santa Claus is coming to town. Santa Claus is coming to town. Santa Claus is coming tooooo tooooowwwwnnnn.”

Scrambling sound on the other end of the phone…

R: “Hello, hello?”

M: Hello, Rudolph?

R: “Yes.”

M: “Thank you for taking some time for me today. This is Margie Wiley, with the Suffolk Cheer Fund. “

R: “Happy to help one of the “nice girls’ this Christmas season.”

M: “Good to know I am on that list! Can you share some of your favorite memories of Christmas past?”

R: “Oh, you know there are so many. There was the first time I headed up Santa’s sleigh. The feeling I get racing around the world helping Santa deliver gifts to all the good girls and boys. Watching the elves hard at work making toys. Oh, and of course, all of the yummy reindeer corn that is left out for me at the homes we visit.”

M: “What puts you in the Christmas spirit?”

R: “The warm feeling you get deep inside of your soul by helping your neighbors. That is why I was so happy to do this interview for the Suffolk Cheer Fund. It is not often you get to thank a community for giving from its heart, and Suffolk shows its heart by supporting the Cheer Fund. Each year, this organization donates all the monies it raises to Toys for Tots in Suffolk. The Cheer Fund makes sure that every child has a gift or two to open on Christmas morning. That really makes a difference not only to that child but also to their family and ultimately the community.”

M: “Thank you, Rudolph, for taking the time to talk with me this evening. Just curious … and I think I know the answer, but what is the ringtone on your phone?”

R: “Well, ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,’ of course? Merry Christmas to all!”

 

The Suffolk News-Herald Cheer Fund helps provide toys for underprivileged children in Suffolk so that they can find a little cheer under the tree.

To donate to the Cheer Fund, send a check to P.O. Box 1220, Suffolk, VA 23439, or bring it to our office, 130 S. Saratoga St., from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Visit the Suffolk Cheer Fund on Facebook to find an online giving link.

We will list your donation in the newspaper, but it can be marked “anonymous” if you like. Donations may be made in honor of or in memory of someone. If you bring the check to our office, we’ll even take your photo as you hand it to one of our staff.

For more information on the Cheer Fund, call 934-9609.