By Don Steen ~ Staff Writer • [email protected]
Gary Schopmeyer of Christmas Lake Village is singing the praises of America’s Christmas Hometown, quite literally. The musician, singer, and songwriter recently recorded an album of original songs at Head First Media Studio in Louisville. Of particular note for the coming holiday season is the song, “Santa Claus in Santa Claus… Indiana”, which tells the story of Santa’s flight south to his namesake town in the Hoosier state.
The inspiration for much of the song stems from Schopmeyer’s time in the local wood industry. He has always had a fascination with Dubois County and Jasper, owing in no small part to his family’s German heritage. His regular road trips south to Santa Claus made the local landscape quite familiar over the years.
As one might imagine, spending a lot of time in Santa Claus can spur sentimental thoughts. For Schopmeyer, he pondered what his regular commute would look like from Kris Kringle’s perspective.
“If I was Santa Claus coming down, how would I see it?” he remarked. “I’d first see the theme park.”
The song hits all the major landmarks in due course, sending the listener on a musical tour of the town. From Holiday World to Lake Rudolph and the Santa Claus Museum and beyond, the song follows Santa across the America’s Christmas Hometown.
Schopmeyer aimed for the song to invoke a child’s experience on Christmas, looking north for Rudolph’s red nose or some other sign of Santa’s coming. For a child in Santa Claus, Indiana, they’d be looking north to Ferdinand and Jasper for a southbound sleigh.
On a cold and starry night, there is a bright Jasper star
And the light of the moon is a silhouette of Santa from afar
And valleys down below are covered with snow… Oh!
Santa Claus in Santa Claus, Indiana
“I envisioned it as me as a child,” said Schopmeyer. “The wondrous awe of Christmas.”
Read more on this story in this week’s issue of the Spencer County Leader!
Featured Image: Musician and Singer/Songwriter Gary Shopmeyer recorded an album for the upcoming holiday season — one song features the town of Santa Claus, IN
One of Shopmeyer’s CD’s that is available for purchase
