 After being one of Santa's helpers for over 20 years, Bemidji's most well-known Santa is hanging up his red coat and hat for good. For the past eight years, Larry Zay has held the title of Chris Kringle for the Paul Bunyan Mall. Over that time he's met thousands of kids and helped spread the Christmas spirit. Sunday marked his last appearance as the Bemidji Mall Santa and he's excited for the next chapter of his life, but he'll always cherish the memories. Bringing joy to the kids, but I had a real tough one the other day with a little girl with a feeding tube, seven months old and a real sweet little girl, but I don't know if she'll ever get to see the picture with Santa, but that was a hard one. In Chicago I had several where the children would want Santa to heal, mom who had cancer or grandma. And if anybody's interested in becoming a Santa's helper, Santa recommends growing a real white beard. I also think you need to have a jovial, big hearty laugh. That would help, the whole ho-ho was, yeah. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.