NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Image above: Don Smith embraces the role of Santa, with a twist. Credit: Jeff Caplan

Don Smith has been working at NASA Langley for 28 years. He is currently an engineering technician whose job is to fabricate and assemble models and flight test articles. Smith loves working with the people at LaRC and is thankful that his brother encouraged him to apply for the apprentice school in 1978.
Outside of work, Smith likes to cruise on his Gold Wing motorcycle. "This year in June a friend and I took six weeks and rode to Alaska and back. In October, I rode to Texas for a week. In 2007, we plan to ride to Alaska by a different route," Smith explained.

His fondest memory was during his childhood in 1951 in Portlock South Norfolk on Second Street. Smith remembers, "It was dark and Santa was coming. We would see who could put their jigsaw puzzle together first. It was late and time to go to bed so Santa could come but no one was sleepy. Mom and Dad put us in their bed and Mom told us to be quiet so Santa will think we were asleep. Dad hung that green blanket which separated their bed from ours and the front door from a wire held near the ceiling by a couple of nails. Santa had to come to the front door because we had no chimney. After what seemed like hours of restlessness Dad announced he had to go out back to the facilities. As luck would have it a knock came at the front door while Dad was out. Mom told us to be real quiet this might be Santa and it was! Santa knew our names, ages and what we did wrong which kind of scared me. Santa left us a lot of apples, oranges, nuts and candy for our stockings, which were our dad's long work socks. I got my hard back reading book I wanted. I believe it had Dick, Jane, Sally and Spot in it. What a Christmas! A few years later I figured out it was Dad at the front door."

Smith calls his mother and father his heroes. He explained, "My mother is my hero for her wisdom and the tanning of all six of our hides when necessary and my dad is my hero for working in some of the worst jobs and weather to make sure we were housed and fed."

For the last five years, Smith has served as the Fabrication Division Employee Session Coordinator. This role has led Smith to take on several different entertaining characters on center. "For example, I donned the garb of a teenager with trousers hanging well below the hips. The theme was "Walk a mile in my shoes then talk to me." I came once as a cowboy, after researching about 40 cowboys and the name of their horses, riding in on a wooden horse and spoke for the horses because the cowboys got all the publicity. I researched the Zoot Suit Riots of the late 30's and arrived at a Session in a complete Zoot Suit to relay that episode. This October I researched Alaska, after my trip there and back, and attended a Session dressed as a gold prospector with information on their long days."

Smith has not shaved since July 1, when he left for his trip to Alaska. He stated, "I got the idea to be a gold prospector first because of the beard. That went so well I figured I could be Santa for the December Session but I had to put a twist to it. Santa's suit had to be updated but I wanted to keep it close to the original color scheme."

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Denise Adams
The Researcher News