This Christmas legacy developed in a rather roundabout way. Ole Berg came to Provo from Norway in 1866. He worked as a cabinetmaker, and in connection with this trade, he made coffins.

In 1876-77, Ole superintended interior construction work on the LDS Church's St. George Temple. When his work there was finished, he returned to Provo and continued working as a well-known contractor and builder.

His last major construction job was the old county infirmary located on the road to Springville near the former site of Ironton. Through the years, Ole never gave up his connection with the burial trade, and he eventually found that it was more lucrative to bury people than it was to bury pipes and footings. By the 1890s, Ole had switched his occupation to that of a full-time undertaker, and his son, Wyman, followed in his footsteps.

'Christmas Man' Wyman gained his public education in Provo schools and went on to attend BYU and the University of Utah. He studied undertaking in Philadelphia and Chicago, and soon became his father's partner. This relieved Ole of many of his business responsibilities and enabled him to concentrate on his civic and ecclesiastical work.

The young undertaker developed a keen interest in Provo's moral and intellectual welfare, and he became a champion of the community's young boys. Being an avid baseball fan, he accepted the voluntary position of president of the LDS Church's Provo Mutual Improvement Association Baseball League. When Ole Berg died in 1919, Wyman continued the undertaking business, and shortly afterward, he began to establish his position as Provo's "Christmas Man.

" Several days before Christmas 1922, Berg announced his intentions to throw what the Daily Herald referred to as "one of the few really worthwhile parties noted in our social column this century." Berg's party would take place on Saturday, Dec. 23 in Provo's old armory located on the east side of 100 West between Center Street and 100 North.

All of Provo's children aged 8 through 12 were invited to attend. In this case, 13 was truly an unlucky number, because Santa Claus reigned as the party's guest of honor. As for Berg's feelings about the party, he commented for the newspaper, "I don't know anything that will give me greater pleasure than to entertain the children of Provo.

...

I like kids and think they should all get together now and then." More than 800 children attended this first annual Berg Christmas Party. Dell Webb, Thelma Eggertson, J.

Milt Jones, B.H. Bullock and, of course, Wyman Berg joined the children in what the Provo Post called "good wholesome games and dancing.

" Wilde's orchestra provided the music. All children who attended the party received a bag of candy and nuts from Santa. For weeks, the children talked about the fine time they had at the party.

The Post commented, "Never before, perhaps, has a Christmas in Provo been so featured by expressions of the true Yuletide spirit as this year." What became the second annual party began at 2:30 in the Provo armory on Dec. 22, 1923.

The building was decorated with holiday colors and Christmas trees. A full orchestra played music for the dance, students from BYU provided entertainment and the university's recreation department helped with the games. Growing popularity Berg anticipated that nearly 1,000 children would attend the armory party.

His expectations were fulfilled. In order to accommodate the growing throng of guests, Berg moved the third party to a larger facility -- the Utahna dance hall, formerly the Mozart. This facility was located on the south side of 100 South between University Avenue and 100 West.

A large pot-bellied stove heated the dance hall and created a potential source of injury to the children. Berg hired a crew of adults and assigned them to encircle the stove and prevent the kids from burning themselves. Enoch Clark, a barber, comedian and musician, served on that crew.

To provide his young guests with Christmas treats, Berg bought candy by the barrel. Nuts arrived in large burlap bags. His family stayed up late many nights previous to the party to bag the children's candy in brightly striped sacks.

This became a Christmas tradition for the family. The Bergs stuffed 1,500 bags of goodies in preparation for the 1924 party. When the young partygoers left the Utahna that year, they took all but three of the full sacks, but they left something in return--coats and caps by the score.

So many tots under the age of eight crashed this party that it became extremely difficult to make sure that they all left with the right coat and hat-- or any wraps at all, for that matter. The Daily Herald elaborated on this problem: "A score of caps and several coats are still in the hands of Mr. Berg at his offices and the committee requests that parents whose children came home with the wrong wraps or with none at all, report to Mr.

Berg and make necessary exchanges." Changes of the season The lack of close supervision for the very young, plus the growing mass of attendees, forced Berg to narrow the age group attending the parties. Eventually, he invited only Provo's fourth- and fifth-graders.

The growing crowds also made it necessary for Berg to periodically find larger buildings in which to hold the parties. In addition to the armory and the Utahna dance hall, the Provo parties took place in the old Provo High School, the Academy, Paramount, and Fox theaters, and the new Provo High School. It is interesting to note that the Berg Annual Christmas Party outlived many of the buildings in which the event was held.

The armory is now the site of a parking terrace, the Utahna was replaced by the downtown post office, the Provo City Center now stands on the site of the old Provo High School, a parking lot sits where the Paramount Theater once stood, Wells Fargo's new building rises on University Avenue where the Academy Theater once screened first-run movies, and the McDonalds on 200 West replaced the Fox Theater. The program format of the annual Berg Christmas Party gradually changed through the years also. It evolved from an active type of program where the children created their own fun by dancing, singing and playing games to a more passive program where children received entertainment from performing groups and movies.

The Bergs also added prize drawings to the agenda -- the ultimate prize being a brand new bicycle. In 1970, Helen Weeks, Orem patron of the arts, directed one of the most elaborate live Christmas programs consisting of songs and dances presented by a cast of eager youngsters. Pauline Hills accompanied on the piano, and radio personality Harold Van Wagenen acted as master of ceremonies.

Helen called the program "Christmas Around the World." Three young girls, acting as narrators, guided the audience on a trip which included visits to several different regions of the world, including Germany, the Holy Land, Spain, South America, Russia and the United States. Using song and dance, the narrators explained some of the Christmas customs and traditions prevalent in those areas.

Some of the featured characters included a singing Christmas tree, the Sugar Plum Fairy, wooden soldiers, a group of Susie Snowflakes and Rudolph the RedNosed Reindeer who guided Santa Claus onto the stage. The Christmas party ended with a Disney cartoon parade, a drawing for prizes and the distribution of goodies from Santa. Although there were several changes in the program through the years, one feature never changed -- Santa always paid a visit.

For more than 30 annual parties, Berg's Santa bore a remarkable resemblance to Utah Valley resident Leonard Madsen. In fact, their similarity was so exact that the two men shared the same fingerprints. Santa used the same sleigh bells each year.

They were the very ones Ole Berg brought from the old country in 1866. For many years, Provo radio stations KEYY and KIXX aired the Christmas parties live and replayed them several times during the day. The Berg family also sponsored a large Christmas nativity scene and a radio program entitled "The Berg Christmas Family Hour.

" The 1954 show featured Christmas music, a presentation of "A Christmas Carol," staring Lionel Barrymore as Scrooge, and a short message from Wyman Berg. This was Wyman's last Christmas message. Shortly after one of his beloved Christmas parties and the presentation of the 1954 radio program, Provo's "Christmas Man" died on Jan.

9, 1955. Tradition lives on Wyman Berg's life may have expired, but his traditional Christmas party lived on. His son Max continued the parties as an annual memorial to his father.

According to former Berg employee Don Orme, Max inherited his father's love for Christmas, and he also enjoyed sponsoring the annual parties. Just before the 1955 Christmas party held at the Academy Theater, Theron Luke, the Daily Herald's city editor, paid Wyman Berg a fitting tribute. Luke wrote concerning Berg, "He used to get more pleasure from the Christmas parties than the kids -- because he was that kind of man.

And we'll bet this coming Saturday, the biggest smile in heaven will be his." A later year, Luke mentioned one of Berg's most noticeable physical attributes, his eyes. Luke wrote, "Those who knew him remember his deep, piercing brown eyes which, on occasion, had a distinctive twinkle -- especially during Christmas parties.

" As Berg's Mortuary expanded into Springville and Orem, so did the Christmas parties. During the 1960s, Max Berg sponsored Springville parties in the Villa Theater and at Springville Jr. High School.

Originally, he invited children in grades 2-4, but he eventually expanded the guest list to include second through sixth grades. The first Christmas party held in Orem took place in 1958. Orem children from fourth and fifth grades swarmed into Orem High School's auditorium to hear the Chauntenetts, a women's singing group led by Helen Weeks.

They also saw the film, "Sammy, The Way Out Seal." Of course, Santa paid a visit and all of the guests left the school with a bag candy and nuts. A few also carried away stuffed animals, radios, and dolls.

In the early 1970s, a party was added in Spanish Fork. The Linde Mortuary, an associate of Berg, sponsored this affair for several years. Carl Berg took over as host of the parties in the 1970s and the fun continued.

A total of about 7,000 children attended the combined parties in 1971. Gifts from Santa One of the main features of the later parties became the drawing for a bicycle. At first, the Bergs gave away just one bike per party, but later they provided a girl's bike and a boy's bike for each program.

During the Spanish Fork party in 1973, two girls won bikes. A girl accidentally put her ticket into the box reserved for boys, and she rode away with the prize. At the Provo party in 1982, two third graders, Chris Nelson and Amanda Robertson, won the bicycles.

When interviewed by a Daily Herald reporter, young Nelson said, " I was hoping I would get a bike for Christmas. All my friends kept telling me, 'We're not going to win anything. You aren't either.

' " Chris was happy to prove them wrong. Amanda revealed her secret tactic and told of her need for a new bicycle: "I felt like today was my lucky day. My mom told me to fold the ticket and I would get a lucky chance of winning.

My bike broke down a long time ago and my mom was saying, 'Well, maybe you will get one from Santa Claus.' " She did. In addition to giving away the bicycles in 1982, Santa distributed 5,000 bags of candy.

During the mid-1980s after entertaining more than 100,000 children, the Annual Berg Christmas Parties suffered the same fate as many of the business's best customers -- they quietly passed away from causes incident to old age. As the years passed, it became more and more difficult to find an auditorium large enough to hold the increasing number of children in the community. During the last year Provo's party was held at the Fox Theater, children had to be turned away.

Each year liability risks increased and the heavy work load during the busy holiday season was also a contributing factor in the party's demise. Don Orme, who worked for Berg Mortuary for 42 years and experienced many parties, summed up his opinion of the Annual Berg Christmas Party in two short, but telling, sentences: "All in all, it was a good experience. It was quite gratifying to see the bright faces and shining eyes of the excited children.

" I'm sure the Berg family agrees. Did I hear a resounding "Amen" from somewhere above? D.

Robert Carter is a historian from Springville. He can be reached at 489-8256.