He became an institution at the Pontarlier hospital : every year, Hubert, a former employee of the hospital center puts on his Santa Claus costume to visit the children who are going to spend the holidays hospitalized in the pediatric department and distribute them small gifts. What to give them a little balm in the heart. And for Hubert, no question of missing this meeting that he has been honoring since 1972.
Disguised for the last 50 Christmases
It was just after being hired at the Pontarlier hospital that Hubert put on his red and white suit for the first time. “When I arrived at the hospital, I was told ‘You’re single, there must be a Santa Claus for pediatrics’, he recalls. And I have never missed a date for 50 years!“
Five decades of visiting sick children of the city’s hospital center every December 24, enough mark generations of young Pontissalians. “Often in the street there are people who say ‘Do you remember? It was the one who was Santa Claus’, he explains laughing. There is a physiotherapist from Pontarlier whom I saw hospitalized and afterwards I learned from his parents that every year, he gave Christmas presents for the pediatric ward “, says the astonished Santa Claus.
I took a lease for life
With his 50 years of experience, Hubert understood that he should not take his mission lightly, which he considers essential. “I can bring them 30 seconds to two minutes of happiness. Happiness and hope also for parents who are there because for them, it is important“, explains the 70-year-old retiree.
And if Hubert has been retired for 10 years, no question for him to store his hood in the attic however. Next year, Santa Claus from Pontarlier hospital will definitely come back, with his basket still full of beautiful gifts. “I took a lease for life“, he concludes with a burst of laughter.