In 1977, a reporter from The Times Record tagged along with Santa Claus as he made his rounds to various locales in the Mid-coast region during December. At Bath Iron Works’ Harding Plant in East Brunswick, the jolly old elf “traded in his pompoms for a hard hat” and stopped for a consultation with Lewis Palmer, who showed St. Nick how to use a torch cutter. Palmer, whose son, Dwayne, is a longtime employee of The Times Record, died earlier this year. One more photo of Santa’s 1977 Mid-coast exploits will appear in the Dec. 22 edition.