Michael DeMocker/The Times-PicayuneChildren with doubts about whether the 7th Ward Santa Claus is real are invited to 'pull this beard off my face,' he said. He was photographed Wednesday with ...

The 7th Ward Black Santa has been around for almost 45 years and Fred Parker, the man who wears Santa’s suit, has had a major impact on the community.

Seventy-three-year-old Fred Parker is the famous Seventh Ward Santa. For generations, Parker has been playing his roll as Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, and he wouldn’t trade a second of those 45 ...