A slide-show lecture, “The Holidays at Hess’s Department Store,” will be presented at 1 p.m. Dec. 15, at the Lehigh County Historical Society’s Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum, 432 W. Walnut St., Allentown.

“No store in America could surpass the magic of a visit to Hess’s Department Store, especially at the holidays,” said Joseph Garrera, executive director of the Museum.

Based on more than 1,000 vintage photographs, the slide-lecture will re-create the spirit of awe and excitement that once drew national celebrities to Allentown, including Johnny Carson and Rock Hudson. It is an excitement that continues to evoke awe decades after the store’s closing at Ninth and Hamilton streets Allentown.

Christmas was a very special time to be entertained at Hess’s. The store was transformed, indoors and outdoors, with festive decorations.

Santa Claus was on hand to greet visitors. He kept up with the times, arriving at Hess’s each year by ever more modern and sometimes fanciful means of transportation. He came by helicopter and by parachute. He even arrived by “flying saucer.” Once at Hess’s, he settled into “Santa’s Workshop,” where he heard the holiday dreams of generations of Lehigh Valley children.

Information: lehighvalleyheritagemuseum.org; 610-435-1074