Dave Harms plans to hold on to Christmas as the greatest time of year. He likes everything about Christmas: the lights, the magical aroma of fresh cut Christmas trees, the ethereal look of lightbulbs wrapped in angel hair, the sumptuous taste of Christmas dinners, the squeals of excited children and, of course, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Harms considers Rudolph a childhood hero; an underdog who saved the day. He began collecting Rudolph décor, advertising, toys, and other memorabilia in 1980. His collection includes everything from tea sets (only available in Canada,) to record players, clothing, lawn displays, and the first animated short in Technicolor (1948.)
Harms’ Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer collection is on display at the McHenry County Historical Society and Museum in Union. The collection includes a copy of the original story, which was part of a sales gimmick by Montgomery Wards.
In 1939, Robert L. Mays, an ad copywriter, was asked to cut corners on the Christmas promotion. At that time, many merchants offered free items (coloring books, for example) as incentive to get shoppers to visit the store. May’s assignment: create an animal Christmas story to pass out to children. May wanted an uplifting story, where the underdog becomes a hero.

Between lurching home from work on the Evanston El-train and waking to fog rolling in over Lake Michigan, May hatched his story. It wasn’t until May persuaded a friend to illustrate the story that he won over his boss.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer proved to be an example of triumph in many ways. Before the story came to fruition, May became a widower with a small child and a mountain of medical bills from his wife’s cancer treatments. After nearly 10 years, he gained the rights to the story he created. May’s friend, Johnny Marks wrote the song and lyrics in 1949. Marks asked Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore and many other artists to record the song. No one agreed. Even Gene Autry refused, fearing the song would ruin his reputation. Eventually, Autry’s wife insisted he do the recording. The rest is history.
Today, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is part of America’s Christmas culture. Over 400 artists recorded the song, including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ray Charles, Ringo Starr, Diana Ross, and Dean Martin. The claymation made-for-TV short, which originated in 1964, now plays hundreds of times throughout the season.
Although the Christmas season, for many, is packed up and put on the shelf until next year, Harm’s likes to hold on to the season as long as possible. His collection is on display at the McHenry County Historical Society and Museum until January 9. He is also available for special tours when the need arises. For a donation, viewers can get a picture taken riding a Rudolph from 1952.