Ladera Ranch Summer Santa Visit

MISSION VIEJO, CA — Ladera Ranch's own "Santa and Mrs. Claus" were out at the Oak Knoll neighborhood block party over Memorial Day, and spoke with the local Rancho Post Gazette on life after World War II.

"It was a war that changed my life," Leonard Kane, now 93-years old said. "The patriotic fervor in America was high and I enlisted following high school. I realized that I liked to be onboard a ship!"

Both Leonard and his wife Trudy have become part of Ladera Ranch folklore, as the longstanding Santa and Mrs. Claus. The pair have been the "official" Santa since 2002.

Children recognize them, and greet them as Santa and Mrs. Claus, according to Trudy. But on Memorial Day, the pair discussed the importance of the country's history, remembering veterans, and being proud of the military neighbors upon their return home.

Memorial Day for the Kanes is more than barbecues and balloons, more than bounce houses and endless games of hide and seek. The pair took time to discuss their story with the Rancho Post Gazette, here. Both Leonard and Trudy Kane expressed their hope that young people would remember their history, and the veterans of foreign wars who fought to keep them free.

"We owe it to those veterans who lost their lives to remember them," Trudy said.

Photos, courtesy Amy Spurgeon Hoffman