Grover Gouker died in May, but Santa Claus lives on.

Picking up on the Manheim Township man's 60-year tradition of answering kids' letters to Santa Claus will be his legion of elves, otherwise known as students from the Hempfield High School gifted program, under the guidance of teacher Pam Felegi.

"We're calling them the Santastic Hempfield Brownies," said Gouker's widow, Gloria. "That was Pam's idea. Isn't it great?"

Since 1950, Gouker, in the guise of Santa, answered more than 100,000 letters from children across the United States and at least seven foreign countries. In the letters, each personally written, "Santa" addressed kids' questions, calmed their fears, gave stern, but loving reprimands to those who admitted to having been bad, and filled them in on life with Mrs. Claus and his elves, or as he referred to them, Brownies.

Gouker's death at age 86 put the project in jeopardy. Mrs. Gouker said she and his daughter, Peg Kyle, began to think, "maybe it's time to let it go and let it be his legacy.

"At first I intended to carry it on, but then decided it would be too emotional," Mrs. Gouker said. "I didn't take into account the grieving process and how tough that has been."

Enter Felegi, one of Hempfield's gifted support teachers, and her students.

Felegi, whose own daughters wrote to Gouker when they were young, phoned and said the students "wanted to help me if I carried the project on," Mrs. Gouker said.

"They helped us last year because it was becoming more and more of a challenge because of Grover's failing eyesight," she said. "He couldn't see to read the letters."

For the most part, the students put stickers on the letters and folded them and slid them into envelopes. They hoped to help again this year, but news of Gouker's death left them "pretty upset," Felegi said. The kids urged her to find out if Mrs. Gouker would continue the letter-writing program.

"The kids are very excited," Felegi said. "They kept asking, 'Are we going to be able to do it?' So yeah, they want to continue it."

Felegi "is familiar with the project and understands it," Mrs. Gouker said, so she decided to turn the job of being Santa over to Felegi and her students.

Mrs. Gouker insisted the project be run exactly as envisioned by her late husband. She assembled the "North Pole Training Manual," a 46-page booklet that outlines, in detail, the methods and style fine-tuned by Gouker.

First and foremost, it instructs the students how to write the letters, with such hints as always answer questions, praise the child and never promise anything. The booklet instructs on margin widths for letters, how to fold them properly (so the Santa letterhead is visible), and the all-important placement of stickers (never in the fold).

To make the letters consistent, the students must learn the names of the reindeer (as well as the back-up reindeer), and of some of the key Brownies and their non-Christmas time duties. These include Tooter, the North Pole's band director, Stamper the post master and Buttons and Bows, who work in the doll shop.

The manual also features sample letters.

A few students are being trained to sign Santa's signature exactly as Gouker wrote it.

Gouker began his duties while working at the post office in Hanover, where he watched workers throw away children's letters to Santa.

As in the past, letters can be mailed to Santa Claus, Hanover, PA 17331, or simply dropped in a Santa mailbox in Hanover's town square. They also may be sent to Mrs. Gouker's Lancaster home.

"To me, we're continuing Grover's legacy, but I want the kids to have ownership of it," said Mrs. Gouker, who plans to stay involved. "I want them to reap the joy and benefits of doing such a neat project. I just think it's a great opportunity for them."

Mrs. Gouker also is looking for some nonprofit group in need of a fund-raising idea that might want to sell her husband's holiday biography, "My Santamental Journey," and his children's book, "I Don't Want No Soap," (based on the shortest letter he ever received from a child, which read, "Dear Santa, I don't want no soap. From Scott").

The two self-published books come together in a red mesh drawstring bag.

Any group interested may contact her for details.

lalexander@lnpnews.com