As a young boy, Dan Rowe once got his head stuck in the chimney as he went searching for Santa Claus at his home in Richmondâs Barton Heights.
âDan was probably 5 or 6,â recalled his older sister, Jane Rowe List. âHe wanted to see how Santa could get down the chimney. He got in the fireplace and tried to stand up. We had to get help getting him out.â
That mini-calamity might be viewed as a remarkable bit of foreshadowing. Years later, generations of children went looking for Santa and found Rowe â spying first his feet as they came into view in the fireplace, his black boots dangling playfully for a few seconds before the rest of the man in the red suit emerged amid jingling bells, sending already excited small children one exit beyond frenzy.