CANAL FULTON, Ohio — If Santa had dairy cows pulling his sleigh instead of reindeer, he would put Jerseys in the front. They look the most like reindeer.
That’s what he told visitors hoping to make it onto the “nice” list at Clardale Farms Dec. 11 for Stark County Farm Bureau’s first ever Milk and Cookies with Santa.
Milk and cookies
Casey Ellington, of Stark County Farm Bureau’s Young Ag Professionals, said the group came up with the idea because they wanted to let people see the cows in the winter.
Usually, people visit the farm in the spring and summer, and she wanted people to see how well taken care of and comfortable the cows on the farm are, even when it’s cold outside.
“And Santa — his favorite drink is milk,” Ellington added.
The milk came from Superior Dairy, where Clardale Farms sends its milk for processing.
Magic mailbox
The farm bureau and the farm also partnered with In Your Shoes — The Sophia Capo Memorial Foundation, a charity based in Stark County that supports families with children who have congenital heart defects, to bring Sophie’s Magic Mailbox to the event.
The foundation, which the Capo family established to honor Sophia Capo, who was born in 2012 and passed away from complications from an undetected congenital heart defect, has been a nonprofit for about five years according to Lauren Capo, Sophie’s mother.
But this is the first year for the mailbox, which the Capos have taken to 11 events this year in addition to having a longer-term station at Kia of Alliance. Children can write letters to Santa and put them in the mailbox.
Every child who sends a letter can get one back from Santa. Lauren Capo said they are expecting to get about 250 letters for Santa this year.
At the stations, the foundation also accepts donations. These donations will support local families who are dealing with medical treatments for congenital heart defects.
“We try and make a little magic for them,” Lauren Capo said.
To learn more or to donate, visit www.sophiesmagicmailbox.com or call 330-361-9111.
