If young Virginia O’Hanlon who penned the Sept, 21, 1897 letter to the New York Sun asking if there was indeed a Santa Claus were alive, she might send a text to the Bulletin asking if the spirit of caring and sharing is dead today in Manteca.

You could understand why she’d ask such a question if you peruse the scathing blogs that litter the Internet slamming Manteca as an inhospitable hell-hole riddled with crime.

Such black-hearted denunciations of Manteca might lead one to erroneously conclude the Grinch should be bringing up the rear of Manteca’s annual Christmas parade and filling the hearts of the little ones that visit him at the downtown hut with angst and despair.
Virginia — driven by the Scrooges that cast their long shadow of loathing across the community — might even ask if Santa exists at all.

The answer would have to be candid, so here goes:

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus in Manteca — and a Mrs. Claus too.

And just like the Santa that inhabits the mythical North Pole represents all that is good, Manteca’s Santa and his bride embody the giving and caring spirit of The Family City that exists not just at the holidays but year-round.

Manteca’s Santa and Mrs. Claus also go by the name of Jeff and Tevani Liotard.

They may spend the holiday spreading Christmas joy but year round they are opening their hearts to help others. Jeff can be seen with a twinkle in his eye fitting eye glasses on those that can’t afford them in impoverished villages in Central America. Back at home he is constantly looking for ways to help others. The marquee community event he undertakes is turning the Mt. Mike’s restaurant he owns with his wife to produce free community Thanksgiving dinners that this year served 2,700 plus meals with the help of a small army of volunteers.

Tevani helps inspire youth through her employment as a Manteca Unified teacher to serve others through the youth group known as Interact.

Santa and Mrs. Claus — make that Jeff and Tevani — are quick to point out that there are people who do far more than they do for the community and that what they do undertake is almost always a team effort involving dozens if not hundreds of other volunteers.

Among the legion of volunteers working selfishly to help others are the young — such as 17-year-old Sydnee Navarro — and the young at heart such as Margaret Ann Rey that has tallied more than 90 years so far on earth. Navarro has spent the last six years collecting necessities and Christmas joy for families at the HOPE Shelter. Rey has spent her entire life helping the homeless through a wide array of endeavors and organizations including HOPE Family Shelters.

They epitomize the volunteerism that is epidemic among the young and the old as well as everybody in between in Manteca whether it involves mentoring young people, helping the elderly, doing community cleanup work or taking part in a thousand and one efforts to bring people together and to help meet basic needs of those that are struggling.

Back hearts? They don’t exist among those that view Manteca as a diamond in the rough instead of a lump of coal.

And when it comes to caring there is nary a Scrooge among the business community. Most do it quietly through unwavering financial support of various endeavors such as Don and Grant Cabral of Cabral Motors. Others such as Phil Waterford turn their businesses for part of a day into a community gathering spot as Waterford is doing today with his dealership where more than 1,000 will be served a free Christmas Eve morning breakfast.

Keep in mind that for every Don Cabral, Grant Cabral, Phil Waterford, Sandee Navarro, Margaret Ann Rey, Jeff Liotard, and Tevani Liotard there are thousands more in Manteca that give freely of their time, wealth, and talents.

Paraphrasing what the New York Sun noted 122 years, you can tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is fabric of good in the world which not the evilest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. The beauty of faith, love, and caring may be overshadowed at times by the incessant noise made those who are in allegiance with the likes of Scrooge but it can never eclipse them.

Is goodness and caring in Manteca all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else more real and abiding.

 To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com.