Texas rancher gave us real reindeer

For at least four years beginning in 1950, when Santa rolled into Portales after Thanksgiving, it was in a sleigh pulled by four real, honest-to-goodness reindeer.

According to newspaper accounts at the time, locals turned out in droves to see them.

The man behind bringing those real-life versions of Dancer, Prancer, Donner, and Blitzen to the courthouse square in Portales was a Texas rancher named Grady Carothers.

Originally from Goldthwaite, in the heart of Mills County, Texas, Carothers became known as the "reindeer king" during a multi-year era when he regularly trekked above the Arctic Circle in Alaska, rounded up reindeer, and flew them back to his ranch in Texas.

Once he had them settled in the Lone Star State, Carothers broke the critters to harness, divvied them up into teams, and had as many six teams on the road each November and December, bringing vivid holiday experiences to communities like ours.

Newspaper accounts show he made New Mexico stops in Jal, Eunice and Clovis as well, as early as 1949.

The first record I can find of him coming to Portales was in 1950 when Carothers arrived on Nov. 25 to participate in the Saturday morning Christmas parade that led from Lilac Park (near where Eastern New Mexico University is now) to the downtown area.

Advance articles in the Portales Daily News touted the event, part of an array of holiday activities arranged by the Portales Chamber of Commerce.

In his "By the Way" column written the day after the parade, Editor Gordon Greaves noted that, "Old Santa and his reindeer should have used the rooftops in Portales Saturday. More people could have seen him."

Greaves lamented that so many showed up that, "A lot of parents were willing to call the whole thing off Saturday but were forced to stay around by youngsters who wouldn't think of leaving until they had got a good look."

Local kiddos had at least three more chances to glimpse Carothers' reindeer teams when they paid return visits in 1951, 1952, and 1953.

In his Nov. 23, 1951, "By the Way," Greaves recounted a tale of a brief escape of one of the horned creatures.

"Santa's reindeers are anxious to be off," Greaves wrote. "The appearance of old Santa and his real-life reindeer was problematical this morning when Blitzen broke his halter rope, and wandered over Portales for two hours before he was captured."

The runaway reindeer was "nabbed in a field in southeast Portales where he was grazing contentedly with some dairy cows," Greaves said.

Greaves wrote that the 1951 visit to Portales was the first public appearance of this particular team of reindeer and that "their trainer said that he had hitched them to a pickup truck with its brakes set yesterday to get them used to harness."

Besides Blitzen making his getaway, the rest of the team was also a little rowdier than anticipated.

Local businessman Eurith Compton had been given the honor of leading the reindeer in the parade, Greaves reported, wryly adding that, "instead, the team led Eurith."

In an oral history interview Grady Carothers gave to the Lampasas County Historical Commission in 1989, he recounted his decades spent in the reindeer business, an idea born when his own two young sons expressed a desire to see Santa's reindeer in person.

After years of sending letters with self-addressed stamped envelopes to every community in Alaska for which he could find a name, Carothers eventually was able to obtain permits to capture and bring back limited numbers of reindeer each year via airplane.

Over time his venture grew to include six trucks and trailers, each equipped with three men (two reindeer handlers and one Santa) and four reindeer.

Working typically with Chambers of Commerce in towns across the lower United States (he said he deliberately avoided the chance for icy roads), Carothers would set up 90-minute visits for $500, which often included appearing in parades as it did in Portales.

Carothers coordinated touring reindeers for 40 years, he said in the interview, adding that it was good money.

"Back when a dollar was a dollar," he said, "they earned over a hundred thousand dollars a year for several years ... way back."

Carothers died in 2004, the day after his 98th birthday.

His obituary said that "one of his fondest memories with the reindeer was when his reindeer pulled Santa Claus in a rose covered sleigh in the 1955 Tournament of Roses Parade."

The last documented appearance in Portales of a Carothers' reindeer team that I've found so far was on Nov. 28, 1953. They may well have come for additional years after that as Carothers had his entourage on the road up into the 1980s.

If you hear sleigh bells outside your window in the next few days, take a look.

It could be Blitzen. It's happened before.

Betty Williamson wishes you a memory-making holiday season. Reach her at:

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