You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen. And yes, you still recall the most famous reindeer of all.

But how did that red-nosed misfit become a star of Yuletide celebrations? He wasn’t one of the original eight tiny reindeer, after all. Who gave him to us?

Would you believe it was a Jewish man with a dying wife who had a little daughter and worked for a big company?

Robert May (Bob to his family and friends) grew up in New York in the early 20th century. When the Great Depression hit, his wealthy Jewish family was ruined.

Bob and his wife, Evelyn, moved to Chicago, where he found work as a copywriter for Montgomery Ward’s famous catalogs. The pay was low, but in those days, just having a job was a blessing. Daughter Barbara was soon born.

But the Mays’ happiness didn’t last lo

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