Editor’s Note: This story originally published in our December 2025 issue, “A Very Cleveland Holiday.” Read the rest of those stories of nostalgia and cheer.
Don Beck has been portraying Mr. Jingeling for the past five years, but this summer was a first for him.
Like many baby boomers, Beck ran home as a child to watch the character’s appearance on Captain Penny during the holiday. And no trip to Halle’s department store was complete without a visit to the seventh floor and Mr. Jingeling — the keeper of the keys, who helped Santa when he was locked out of his workshop one year…