Williamsport, Pennsylvania — Citizens in Williamsport, Pennsylvania won’t have to worry whether or not presents will be under the tree come Christmas day after automotive restoration students worked to ‘save’ an animatronic Santa.
As noted by the Pennsylvania College of Technology in a recent press release, the animatronic Santa is once again waving to visitors at the city’s Candy Cane Lane following a charitable tune-up by students who repaired a broken mechanical piece in Santa’s arm.
The mechanical Santa statue has reportedly been a tradition in the area in 1957, but last year, visitors noticed that the statue’s arm was no longer functioning.
Roy H. Klinger, collision repair instructor and co-department head, accepted the challenge of saving Santa and assigned the work to automotive restoration students Madelon E. Andersen and Henry W. Zimmerli.
Klinger commented in the press release that “after reviewing the broken part, we realized that fixing it would allow students to use fabrication skills that they need to practice. Plus, it was a way to teach students to give back to their community. There’s added value when students have the chance to perform a service benefiting the community.”
To fix up Santa, Andersen used a power hammer machine to shape metal to serve as a reinforcement shell for the broken portion of Santa’s upper arm.
Additionally, Zimmerli assisted by riveting together the metal support and the plastic arm.
Following this work, Santa’s arm was once again able to move back and forth.
With Santa now ready to greet visitors on Candy Cane Lane for this year’s holiday season, Andersen and Zimmerli have surely guaranteed their spots on the Nice list.
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