News : Faces of Benton County Nominees: Dan and Alice Stramer

Meet Dan and Alice Stramer, Watkins residents who together have spent close to fifteen years spreading joy throughout Benton County (and beyond!) by playing Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Dan and Alice are the eighth nomination to the Family Nurturing Council's Faces of Benton County campaign. The Stramers were nominated by their friend Rhonda Vogel who works at Norway Intermediate School.

"Dan and Alice are the most welcoming people you could meet," Rhonda wrote on the Stramers' nomination form. "They have huge hearts and dress up as Santa and Mrs. Claus and visit schools, daycares and nursing homes during the Christmas season."

"I'd say we saw between five and six-hundred kids," Dan said of the 2019 holiday season.

"We go to a lot of homes," Alice explained when asked where they go to play Santa and the Mrs. "This year we went to the childcare at Frontier [in Norway]."

"We also went to the Hall-Perrine Cancer Center [in Cedar Rapids]…I had a friend with cancer…Leo…the people at Hall-Perrine, they're really good people," Dan said.

The Stramers walked the halls at Hall-Perrine and gave out candy canes to all the patients and small gifts to the staff members. Dan said they are always a hit with the nurses.

Dan first started playing Santa fifteen years ago when a friend with a Santa suit wanted to retire from the life and pointed out Dan's resemblance to the jolly man in the red suit-specifically his white beard. Now Dan grows his beard out every year and fully takes on the role.

As to why they keep going in their roles every year, the couple said they simply love kids-to which Dan added with a grin, "I am a former child myself."

While Alice is retired from Frontier Co-op, Dan works for Whirlpool in Amana as a mechanical maintenance technician. But in their free time, they often find themselves offering assistance to people in some way.

"They collect school supplies, mittens and gloves from the local churches and donate them [to area schools]. I can't begin to name all the other caring things they do in our community!" Rhonda wrote of the couple.

Longtime residents of Watkins-it is also Dan's birthplace-the Stramers are a beloved fixture in the tight-knit community. Alice is president of the Benton County Food Pantry and together they often deliver food to rural or homebound clients in their area. Dan also mows yards and lends a hand whenever a need arises.

"I just open my heart to God and help whomever he guides me to," Alice added.

Rhonda ended the Stramers' nomination with-"The world needs more caring people like Dan and Alice!"

Thank you, Alice and Dan, for being everyday heroes and a force for good in our community!