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It was 30 years ago at Christmastime when a group of Ewing School preschoolers' trip to the mall to see Santa went heartbreakingly wrong.

When the mall's Santa Claus saw the special needs students back in 1979, he wouldn't touch them, talk to them or hold them, and they were sent home without their turn with the jolly bearded man.

"I was shocked by what he did," said Mark Wallace, whose mother, Shirley, was a longtime Ewing School bus driver and shared the upsetting tale. "I didn't like the idea. Every kid needs to have Santa in their life."

So Wallace decided to become Santa himself, though he had never donned the suit and beard before, and came riding in on a sleigh that might as well have been a white horse.

And he's been doing it since, visiting the Ewing School children that Christmas and every Christmas since for three decades.

"He's part of our family now," said Debbie Peck, developmental specialist at the school. "The kids adore him. This is what they look forward to all year long."

Wallace, who has lived in Columbus for the last 27 years, was at the school once again Friday evening, as the children in Ewing's early intervention program and their families gathered for a holiday dinner.

He takes time off from work each year to make the trip but said he wouldn't miss it.

"I like to do this for the kids - especially these kids," Wallace said. "They get so excited."

By Friday's outing, Wallace was on his fourth Santa suit and third wig and beard. He takes an hour to get ready before an appearance to make sure each detail is perfect when the children see him.

"I want them to remember it and to really believe in it," he said.

As he entered the crowded gym Friday, jingling bells to announce his arrival, he made just the impact he wanted on Jennifer Snyder's two children, Emma, 4, and Timmy, 2.

"Timmy gave him five," said Snyder, of Lowell. "They love seeing Santa and getting to sit on his lap and have pictures taken. My daughter really looks forward to it."

Wallace's longtime tradition may be one of 3-year-old Wilson Maifeld's first memories of Old Saint Nick, said his parents Mitch and Amy, of Fleming.

"He's just learning about him," said Amy Maifeld. "He knows that Santa says "Ho, ho, ho."

Wilson, who was celebrating his birthday Friday, was one of the first children to get to see Santa at the Ewing dinner.

"We came in just as Santa was coming in," said Mitch Maifeld. "It's really nice that they have him here because otherwise, I don't know where he would get to see him."

Once his annual date with the Ewing children has been met and he has all the children's wish lists in his head, Wallace still has a busy season ahead of him.

Since discovering his passion for playing Christmas' most popular figure back in 1979, Wallace has been offering his services in other places where he may be most needed, from group homes to individual households of people with special needs.

Last weekend, he served as Santa in the Beverly-Waterford Christmas Parade and gave a special treat to his nephew Carson Cunningham, of Vincent, who is autistic.

"We sent Carson a letter that said Santa's elves had H1N1 and they needed him to fill in for the parade," said Wallace's cousin, Missy Coe, of Barlow, who portrayed Mrs. Claus at Ewing School Friday.

"He had always wanted to be in a parade," said Wallace. "He sang, he danced, he threw candy."

The 13-year-old was ecstatic about the opportunity, said Coe.

"Santa could not have made a child more happy," she said. "He kept telling me that he got to be up close and personal with the big man. He just was saying, 'Today's the day, today's the day' and was so thrilled."

Wallace said he wants to keep making dreams come true and children believers, from his own family members to his Ewing family to any child in need of some extra holiday cheer.

"I wasn't sure I'd do it again after the first time," he said. "But here I am and I love it. I hope I've made a lot of kids happy."