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Richmond Santa remembers boys' names, 73 years on

You simply can’t knock Santa’s memory. It has been 73 years since they both sat on Santa’s lap, but the big man in red still remembers Howard and Bob by name.

You simply can’t knock Santa’s memory.

It has been 73 years since they both sat on Santa’s lap, but the big man in red still remembers Howard and Bob by name.

Howard Bennett, of Richmond, and Bob Seibold, of Vancouver, were only four back then, when they posed for the photo at Woodwards Wonderful Toyland in Downtown Vancouver in 1946.

And last year, after Seibold took his grandkid to see Santa, the lifelong friends came up with the idea to recreate their nostalgic Santa photo.

Sure enough, last week at Richmond Centre, Bennett and Seibold lined up to see Santa, dressed in almost identical clothes from 73 years previous.

“(Santa) said, ‘Hi, Bob,’ Seibold told the Richmond News. “I said, ‘Do I know you?’ I thought it was maybe an old friend from high school.

“He said, ‘I’m Santa Claus, I know everybody.’ He was amazing.”

The pair, with a combined age of 154, sat on his knee and were asked what they wanted for Christmas.

“Howard asked for an Aston Martin,” laughed Seibold. “You never know.”