Emery, Bird, Thayer Laughing Santa Claus

Transcribed article: EBT Laughing Santa. Remember the cheery chortle of the EBT Laughing Santa? You surely do if you grew up in Kansas City - or even if you've visited Crown Center in the last few years. That's because the giant, mechanical Santa that once graced the window of Emery, Bird, Thayer department store in downtown Kansas City is now part of the holiday tradition at Crown Center. The Jolly Ol' Soul chuckles 267,840 times per season - roughly eight times a minute - during his holiday residency. But that wasn't always the case. After the Santa presided over Emery, Bird, Thayer's holiday display in the early 1900s, he became homeless when the store was razed in the 1960s. As a result, the mechanical Santa was a transient for several years, living in disrepair in a lumber yard and with antique dealers until he was purchased by the late Jerry Smith, a well-known Kansas City antique collector and philanthropist. Jerry Smith sold the EBT Laughing Santa to Crown Center in 1979. Since then the knee-slapping Santa has been extensively restored and this year, as every year, you'll find him "ho-ho-ho-ing" in the level 1 atrium, providing memories for a whole new generation of children.