RUDOLF THE RED NOSE REINDEER
It is not Christmas without the story of RUDOLF. The story about how RUDOLF came into existence
is equally as heart warming. Doing right
by others is exactly what Montgomery Wards Department Store did for Robert May,
the 1939 author of this fascinating story.
May was a copyright employee for Montgomery Wards and was known to have
a proclivity to write children’s stories.
They commissioned him to write a story-coloring book to give away at
Christmas time and he came up RUDOLF the Red Nosed Reindeer. May was bullied as
a child for being small and understood that the underdog was often just the
person needed to accomplish important tasks.
In the story, RUDOLF was asleep in his bed when Santa arrived to give
out his gifts. Santa noticed RUDOLF’s
flashing nose through RUDOLF’S window and Santa woke RUDOLF up and asked him to
guide his sleigh through the foggy night.
May did not own the copyright to this fast growing holiday story and
several years later when May was under great financial stress because of his
wife’s medical treatment for cancer, Montgomery Ward signed over the copyright
of RUDOLF to May. May was able to
provide a comfortable life for himself and his motherless 4-year-old daughter
from that time forward. I invite you to
use this story to ask yourself, “Whom do you need to do right by?” “Whose life can you make easier this holiday season?” “How can your disability become an asset to
others this holiday season?” RUDOLF was
created out of nothing and became a very important figure, what can you create
out of nothing to make a difference?”
