New Dentist Comes to Santa Claus David, Jessica, and Patrick Walters

There’s a new dentist in town and she will be ready to take on patients as early as the second week of January.

“It’s going to be hectic but we want to go on and open the practice.”

Jessica Walters (Wittman) grew up in Evanston, went to Heritage Hills High, married fellow classmate David, graduated from Indiana University Dental School and has been practicing for the last three years in Evansville.

“Where I work has been great,” Jessica said. “You see a little bit of everything. I’ve also gotten a ton of experience.”

“The average dental practice sees around 2000 patients,” Walters said. “I will be accepting new patients for a while.” Walter plans on being open three days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and one day 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“Everything is going to be digital and top of the line,” Walters commented. Her practice will be paperless from x-rays to charts.

Jessica knew that after dental school she wanted to move back to this area. Jessica and husband, David moved to CLV last June. “We get to spend a lot of time with family now that we’re closer,” said Jessica. “Most of our family is in Spencer and Dubois County.”

The Walters have two children; two year old Patrick and newborn, Margaret. The family attends St. Nick’s church.

Walters and her staff will begin making appointments around the middle of December after phone service has been established.

Ed & Janet Shelton

Ed & Janet Shelton have hardly had time to get settled into their new CLV home with all the company they have had since their May arrival.

The couple found out about CLV while taking a road trip with good friends and new residents Gene and Myra Allen. Janet walked through her ideal home in Holiday Village. After that, the Sheltons decided to move from their Highland, Indiana, home of 30 years to Southern Indiana.

In fact enough people have migrated from Highland now that local realtor David Grundhoefer had a dinner for all the Highland transplants. “It was so nice of him to do that and to get together with everyone,” Janet commented.

The Sheltons have a son who lives in Mobile, Alabama and a daughter who lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ed retired after 28 years of work as a millwright mechanic in the steel industry. Janet raised the children and now looks forward to spending time with the grandchildren.

Ed enjoys hunting, fishing and gardening. Janet enjoys sewing, cooking, reading, collecting music boxes and gardening. The couple attends Heritage Hills Baptist Church.

Darrell & Michelle Frye

Darrell and Michelle Frye moved from Cleveland, Ohio to CLV recently in order to be closer to family.

“I have three sisters in the area,” said Michelle. “One sister who lives in the village, one who lives in Buffaloville and one who lives in Dale.”

Michelle, a Dale native, graduated from Heritage Hills and has been surprised at how the area has changed since she has been gone. “I didn’t recognize a lot of things!” Michelle said. Darrell grew up in Kokomo and most of his family lives in Central and Northern Indiana.

Darrell and Michelle have three children. Six-year old Saylor is in First grade at Nancy Hanks and enjoys singing, dancing, ballet and gymnastics. Three-year old Ethan loves baseball, football and golf. Six-month old Daylan enjoys cuddling and trying new foods like squash and sweet potatoes.

The Frye’s enjoy vacationing together and try to go to Hawaii every other year. Michelle’s passion is working in the garden and decorating. She used to own a shop in Dale that sold home accessories. Darrell runs, reads and watches movies when not playing with the kids.

Gene & Myra Allen

All it took for Gene & Myra Allen to make the move to Christmas Lake Village was a visit with friends here and they fell in love with the area.

Gene and Myra moved to CLV in March from Highland, Indiana. The couple, who have been married 35 years rave about their new home and surroundings.

“I think it is beautiful here,” said Gene. “I love that it is a gated community and I love the weather.”

“It is a breath of fresh air,” added Myra. “We don’t miss where we were before at all. We certainly don’t miss the traffic.”

“What I miss mostly is Dunkin Donuts,” joked Gene who enjoys a good cup of coffee in the morning.

Gene retired from working in automobile collision centers and Myra retired from various bookkeeping and accounting jobs.

Myra grew up in Northern Indiana. Gene spent his childhood and schooling years in Illinois near Lake Michigan.

The couple is looking forward to traveling and going on bus tours once they get settled.

They attend Heritage Hills Baptist Church. In his spare time, Gene enjoys shopping, golf and fishing. Myra takes pleasure in decorating and helping the youth at church and shopping with Gene.

Steven & Tresa Lee

Steven & Tresa Lee moved to CLV in August, right before the start of school last year, from Somerset, Kentucky. Steven works as a Controller with Kimball International in Jasper. Tresa, a Domestic Engineer, takes care of everything else, including the couple’s four children.

Matthew, an 8th grader and Makessa, a 4th grader live in Somerset with their mother. The other two children live in Santa Claus. Jacob McKnight, an 8th grader at Heritage Hills Middle School enjoys cross country, snowboarding, soccer and skateboarding. Courtney McKnight, a 5th grader at Nancy Hanks enjoys dancing, singing, cheerleading and gymnastics.

“We have to buy everything double at Christmas,” Tresa said regarding having the children so close in age.

The family has already enjoyed a trip to Paoli Peaks which ended in an emergency room trip as well. Tresa joked that in the short time the family has been in Santa Claus they had visited two different ERs.

Steven and Tresa enjoy house boating, traveling and taking cruises. The family enjoys going to Gatlinburg and plan on visiting Universal Studios later this year. The family attends Heritage Hills Baptist Church

Walt & Lois Semenuk

What do being chased by an alligator, living in a town named for a famous Ute Indian chief, and buying a house without ever stepping foot into it have in common? These are just a few experiences that Walt & Lois Semenuk have encountered in their lifetime.

The couple has been married for 26 years spending most of those years operating unique gift shops. The couple’s first gift shop was in New Orleans in the French Market, called “Wally Gator’s” that eventually included mounted alligator heads. Be sure to ask Walt about being chased by a five-foot gator.

Walt & Lois moved to CLV last October from Ouray, Colorado where they owned an eclectic gift shop filled with treasures and trinkets from all over the world.

“We’d never heard of Santa Claus,” Lois said. “We wanted to move closer to family and this seemed like a good match.” They bought their house in CLV without ever visiting here. Walt saw the house on eBay; they fell in love with the pictures, and sent in a deposit, sight unseen.

“We’ve been on the biggest roller-coaster ride with real estate this last year,” said Lois referring to the selling of their Colorado business and inventory and purchasing their new house.

Walt & Lois enjoy buying and selling beads for jewelry-making and plan on selling them on eBay. They have gathered beads from all over the world, varying from rare minerals to unique man-made glass.

The couple has two grown children. Their son, Rick lives in Crown Point, Indiana and daughter Elizabeth lives in Delaware. Max, a Bouvier breed dog also shares the Semenuk’s home

Gail & Rodney Fischer

Gail and Rodney Fischer were high school sweethearts and have lived out the majority of their lives in Southern Indiana. After living in Huntingburg for 10 years, the couple moved to CLV in August.

Gail was born in Jasper and Rodney was born in Huntingburg. When Gail’s parents divorced, she began going to Southridge High School where she met Rodney. The two married and now have two daughters; Cassie and Abby.

Rodney has worked for Toyota in maintenance for the past eight years. Gail has a degree in Food Science but she currently stays at home and maintains the family’s schedule. Twelve year-old Cassie is a sixth grader at Lincoln Trail who loves art, writing stories, playing softball and volleyball. Six-year old Abby is a first grader who loves to play soccer and her favorite subject is gym.

The family enjoys exercising together and doing household activities. They have a cat named Butterscotch who is making the adjustment to their new house as well as Hermit Crabs. They attend St. Nicholas Catholic Church.

Bill & Trish Sanders

They say there is nothing like coming home. To Trish Sanders these words ring true. Growing up in Nashville, Indiana, Trish was glad to move back to the area after spending the last 24 years in Florida.

However her husband Bill “keeps the truck gassed and ready for a trip south.” Bill’s love for Trish won out over his love for Florida and the couple moved here the first of October from their Estero, Florida home.

Trish has a son in Jasper and a daughter in Indianapolis. The rest of the couples combined seven children live scattered all over. The couple has 43 grandchildren and great-grandchildren and has enjoyed getting to see their Indiana grandkids more since moving to Santa Claus.

Trish retired from having her own custom shop where she was a custom needlepoint finisher. With a varied career, Bill served in the Air Force during World War II, performed carpentry, and owned a Building Supply Company, a Marina, a fishing boat and a commercial construction company. Needless to say he has already gotten restless with the lack of work here and is looking for something else to do.

The couple enjoys NASCAR racing and travel. Trish loves to sew while Bill enjoys fishing. He says the largest fish he has ever caught was a 400 pound Goliath Grouper and that’s not a fish story!

Rudy & Lois Mende

Rudy and Lois Mende may have begun their lives in Indiana but their grown up lives took them all over the country. The couple returned to Indiana in April 2004 and settled into CLV.

The couple met in Angola, Indiana in 1954 while Rudy was attending Tri-State College and married later that year. Rudy worked for the Department of Defense Contract Audit Agency which took them to cities all over the United States including Chicago, San Diego, Phoenix and Tucson. When Rudy retired from the Department of Defense he became a mutual funds broker.

Lois earned her license as a Cosmetologist. Lois has sisters in the Angola area and other family in both Garrett and Santa Claus, Indiana. Lois belongs to the Red Hat Society and has taken up golfing after a 20 year absence.

The couple enjoys traveling and square dancing. Besides square dancing, the couple has also learned the cha-cha, tango, the waltz, Country swing and round dancing.

The couple had one son, Todd who was successful in the Mountain Bike business in Tucson. Unfortunately Todd died in an accident in 2001.

The couple attend Santa Claus United Methodist Church. Rudy & Lois share their home with Fluffy, a long haired Chihuahua and Simon, a sun conure.

Ed & Ann Skiba

Southern Indiana isn’t exactly new territory for Pennsylvania natives Ed and Ann Skiba. In 1987 the Skiba’s moved to Evansville from Pennsylvania and lived there for five years. The company then moved them back to Pennsylvania.

The Skiba’s thought they would finish Ed’s working career in Pennsylvania when once again the company transferred the couple back to this area. Ed and Ann jumped at the chance to live back in Southern Indiana and decided to settle in Christmas Lake Village.

Ed has worked for the past 24 years as a troubleshooter and Instrument Technician for MG Industries, part of the Messer Group. MG Industries has a plant located in Rockport and Ed was told he needed to live near an airport and the Rockport area.

The Skiba’s moved to CLV in February 2005 from Leesport, Pennsylvania. The couple has been married for 27 years. They share their house with Indy, their 12 year old dog.
Ann worked for 18 years as a dental assistant and is currently a Christ Servant Minister and speaks for pastors when they go on vacations. Ann also enjoyed helping with the Brooks County Women’s Prison Ministry back in Pennsylvania. She was involved with the Lazarus Project which would help women once they got out of prison.

Both Ed and Ann enjoy watching NASCAR and playing golf. Ann got Ed interested in golf several years ago. Ed devotes a lot of spare time to antique clock repair. His grandfather was a clock master and Ed has been working on clocks for the past 25 years.

Chris & Gretchen Childress

Lots of things have happened in the last year for Gretchen and Chris Childress. The couple married last August, honeymooned in Gatlinburg, Gretchen got a new job and the couple bought a house in CLV nearly three months ago. Their life has been a literal whirlwind.

Chris, who grew up in Lamar, and Gretchen, who grew up in Odon, Indiana, met while Gretchen was in college at Indiana Wesleyan. Chris really wanted to be introduced to Gretchen not only to go out with her but also so he could get an airplane ride. Gretchen has been a licensed pilot since she was 18. Chris said they dated quite a while before he got that airplane flight.

Chris works for Ohio Valley Pipeline in Evansville as a construction mechanic. When he is not busy with his job he enjoys working on cars or watching cartoons. Gretchen is employed as a Therapist at the Southwest Indiana Mental Health Center. When she is not working she reads fiction, especially John Grisham books.

The couple laughs about how when they dated Gretchen would fix lasagna and green beans for Chris when he would visit on the weekends. It wasn’t until after they got married that Chris told her that he couldn’t stand green beans and was only eating them because she had made them. It must be love!

Skip Allen & Mary Miller

The Allen/Miller family is glad to be settling into their new home in CLV. For the last two years the family has lived in the duplexes behind Santa’s Lodge where Skip works as the General Manager.

The family moved here from Madison, Indiana where Skip worked for another hotel. He has “spent lots of years in the hotel industry” and likes his current job at Santa’s Lodge. Mary is a Mary Kay consultant.

Bethany is a nine-year-old 3rd grader at Nancy Hanks Elementary who enjoys playing softball, basketball and soccer. She also likes math and reading, often working her way through an entire series of books. Macy is a 1st grader who likes playing outside with her friends and working on math at school.

Loretta Wickenhauser, Mary’s mother, also lives with the family. Loretta moved here from Missouri last November and works as a desk clerk at Santa’s Lodge. Mary said they had finally persuaded Loretta to live with the family and loved having her here.

The family enjoys having family game nights, going to Holiday World and picnics. The best vacation they have ever had was going to Anna Maria Island, Florida, though Skip says unfortunately, it has been a long time since their last vacation.

Karen Meadors

Many times parents find themselves wishing their children lived closer so they could spend time with the grandchildren. In Karen Meador’s case, it was the opposite— the. children wanted her to move to Santa Claus to be nearer them.

Karen moved to CLV in October 2004 from Dale. Growing up in Winslow, IN, she was no stranger to this area.
She is employed by Styline Industries as a leather cutter. She inspects hides for scars, cuts them and then bundles them for the next step in furniture making. She has been with the company for the past 18 months and enjoys what she does.

Karen shares her home with her rat terrier, Skeeter. She has two sons, both of whom live close by. Her son Rod and his wife Robin live only a few houses away. Her youngest son Scott and his wife Cassie reside in Lincoln City.

She is proud of her two grandsons. One spent 13 months in Iraq as a National Guardsman and the other is currently in Iraq as a member of the US Army.

When Karen isn’t busy working she enjoys reading and taking walks. She is also looking forward to getting outside to work in the yard as the weather warms.

Sam & Laurie Murray

You can’t be in the Murray’s house long without being invited to see some of Sam’s collections. It might be sports memorabilia, little liquor bottles from around the world, or Lynyrd Skynyrd collectables.

Sam & Lorie moved here in May 2004 from Wrightwood, CA because of Sam’s job transfer. Sam works at the Evansville Regional Airport as an air traffic controller. He has worked as a controller for the past 11 years.

Lorie works in Dale at the Head Start as a cook. She also gets to help out in the classroom when needed. Since living in Santa Claus, Lorie has become “hooked” on knitting, spending most of her time knitting scarves. She also enjoys singing, playing guitar and listening to Christian music.

Sam has spent a lot of time outside. The family’s backyard was extremely wooded when they moved in. Last year they cut down over 100 trees. Barbecuing and listening to Southern rock are two more of Sam’s passions.

The Murray’s have two children. Fifteen-year-old Anna is a sophomore at Heritage Hills High School. Anna spends time reading, writing poetry and performing puppets at their church. Nine-year-old Alayna attends Nancy Hanks. Riding bikes and playing with friends are two of Alayna’s pastimes.

Mark & Deborah Ortiz

The main reason the Ortiz family moved to CLV was to “have their kids grow up in a nice place.” (If you ask their children, Holiday World was the major selling point!)

Deborah and Mark Ortiz moved into CLV in October 2004. They knew Santa Claus had good schools and was a nice community to live in.

Deborah and Mark have two sons. Twelve-year-old Zach is a sixth grader at Lincoln Trail Elementary. He enjoys skateboarding and playing basketball. Eight-year-old Gage is a first grader at Lincoln Trail. Gage likes baseball and skateboarding. The other family members emphasized that he really enjoys fishing.

Mark works at Dubois Machine Company as a Mechanical Engineer. He has been employed there for the last 10 years. Deborah is a Teacher’s Aide with Head Start in Dale.

Mark keeps busy participating in field trials with beagles where he and his dog are judged at how well they compete. Deborah enjoys drawing and painting. The whole family is proud of her talent and were quick to show off her work!

The family enjoys going to parks and playing chess. They are looking forward to working in the yard and gardening this summer.

Michael & Helena Wodrich

Helena Wodrich’s beautiful English accent quickly shows she is not native to the area. Michael and Helena are one of the only couples new to the village that can say they moved here from another country.

The Wodrich’s moved to CLV in October 2004 from Leeds, England.

Michael, who grew up mostly in New Jersey and Ohio met Helena through a mutual friend. Helena was born and raised in Cheshire, England but had spent time in Indianapolis with her career. When a job transfer brought them to Southern Indiana, Helena said they were taken with this area.

Michael graduated from Purdue as an engineer and now works for Parker-Hannifin in Tell City as a Project Manager in filtration. Helena received her degree from Derby University as an occupational therapist.

Helena currently spends her days with the couple’s two-year-old daughter, Ella. Michael and Helena are expecting twins in June.

The couple enjoys traveling, hiking, running and outdoor activities in general. Rounding out their household is Chester, an Australian hound/Sheltie mix.

The family also has two dogs, Wilbur and Lucy.

Robert Alvis & Andrea Hoelscher

Robert was born in Sacramento, California. Andrea was born in Marshalltown, Iowa. While they were attending different graduate schools in Chicago, love and good conversations brought them together. In June, Robert’s job at St. Meinrad Abbey brought them to CLV.Robert started teaching at the abbey this Fall as an Assistant Professor of Church History in the Theology department. Andrea was a Professor of Photography in Boston at the Massachusetts College of Art. Andrea’s area of concentration is landscape photography.

The couple’s 18-month-old daughter, Magdalena, takes the majority of Andrea’s time, but she also saves time for taking pictures whenever possible. Robert and Andrea enjoy hiking at Lincoln State Park, listening to Bluegrass music and classic country artists. Andrea quilts in her spare time. Her sister is her inspiration and fabric source. Her sister exhibits quilts and always has a lot of fabric for Andrea to look through. Robert and Andrea are members of St. Nicholas Catholic Church where Andrea also sings in the choir. Andrea currently has her work on exhibition at Roanoke College.

To see some of her photos go to www.roanoke.edu/finearts/art/artindex.htm. Click on exhibitions, current seasons and finally Andrea’s name.

James & Julie Dantic

Julie grew up in Tell City, Indiana. James grew up in Owensboro, Kentucky. They met at Commonwealth Aluminum while working summer jobs in college. They worked in the finishing department and say their love grew while working on the line, “factory style”.

The Dantic’s moved to CLV in August from Richmond, Kentucky where James worked in school administration and Julie was a surgical nurse. The Dantic’s have two children. Ben is eight years old and a 3rd grade student at Lincoln Trail Elementary School. Ben enjoys soccer, baseball, and football. Ivy, a five year-old preschooler, participates in gymnastics, soccer and dance.

James currently teaches juniors and seniors at Owensboro High School, and stays busy in off hours with his current hobby, cleaning out the garage. Julie is a surgical nurse at Women’s Hospital at Deaconess and relaxes with gardening, crafts, jazzercise and Pilate's.

The family enjoys visiting grandparents, going to movies, bowling, skating and hiking. They attend St. Nicholas Catholic Church, where they are already involved in numerous activities.

Jackie & Mike Kress

Mike was fresh out of high school and working with heavy equipment moving dirt around in what would later be known as CLV. Mike said that they were encouraged to buy as many lots as they wanted for a price of $500 per lot. He wondered, “Who in their right mind would spend $500 to buy a lot in the middle of this new development?”

In July Mike and Jackie Kress moved into CLV, which coincidentally was also their 30th anniversary. Before CLV, they lived only two miles east of here on a turkey farm. After 15 years of working the turkey farm, the couple decided they wanted to concentrate on other things, like grandchildren.

Jackie and Mike both mentioned how much fun being a grandparent is compared to being a parent. They don’t have to enforce rules and they can spoil the grandkids at will. Jackie and Mike have four children. Their oldest daughter, Kelly is married to Clint Ruxer. They have two girls, Ashlyn who is nine and Hailey who is four. Karen, their next daughter is married to Alan Washington. They have two sons, Alan Michael who is seven and Lucas who is two. Their son Greg is a graduate student at Indiana State. Their youngest daughter Lisa is a student at USI.

Mike currently works for Foerstsch Construction running heavy equipment. He also enjoys doing custom dirt work when time allows. Jackie has worked the past 13 years at the St. Meinrad Archabbey in the Mail & Duplication Department.

The couple were both born and raised in Spencer County and they met at Dale High School. In Mike’s spare time he enjoys playing the fiddle and listening to bluegrass. They both enjoy taking care of grandchildren and spending time with family.

John & Janet Topper

Boonville and Newburgh High Schools were playing to see who would be the sectional champs, but Janet Topper said fireworks went off when she saw her future husband, John. John and Janet had grown up knowing each other, but it wasn’t until that game that sparks flew that would eventually lead to marriage.
Janet and John moved to CLV in July from Riverton, Wyoming, where John served as Executive Director for the Riverton Economic and Community Development Association. . Though they both grew up in Newburgh, they have spent most of their married life living and visiting 35 different countries and all 50 states. They have been married for 41 years and have five grown children. Their oldest children, Laurie and Cindy, live in Boonville, Indiana. The next two, Tracy and Wendy, live in Indianapolis. Their son Nathan lives in Atlanta. They have 13 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
John spent 34 years in the Army serving in the infantry, retiring with the rank of Colonel in 1993. In 1998 the United States Small Business Administration awarded John with the District VII “Veteran’s Advocate of the Year”. John enjoys fishing and hunting. While John was in the Army, Janet spent those same 34 years raising children and taking care of household duties, which were many, since the couple moved every two to four years. Janet enjoys spending time with family, traveling and taking pictures. One of her favorite pastimes is scrap booking and taking lots of pictures. She also enjoys studying the Bible and helping women who have been hurt. Two poodles, Annie and Katie, also share the Topper’s house.