Ask around Grundy County for an everyday hero, and just about everyone replies, “Did you talk to Joe from Operation St. Nick?”

In this case, Joe is Joe Schmitz, the Operation St. Nick founder and the namesake of Joe Schmitz Drive near Morris Elementary School on the city’s west side. It borders the West Side Park baseball fields, which fits because Schmitz is a lifelong White Sox fan and member of the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum board.

Schmitz has had his spot in the newspaper several times because he’s done a lot to write about. However, he’d be the first person to say he didn’t do any of the work with Operation St. Nick alone.

His wife, Carol, has been there since Day 1. Linda Baker, his right hand, started helping him with Operation St. Nick when he still was working out of Exchange Bank in Gardner.

Schmitz said it started there, then moved to Southmor Road when Exchange Bank opened a branch in Morris, and then moved to the U.S. Route 6 location when that was built.

“As we all got older, those stairs were not very conducive,” Schmitz said.

In those days, the Christmas presents were stored in the bank’s basement, and the families who received them arrived in their cars.

The stairs weren’t the only complication, either. Brad Baker, a member of the Operation St. Nick board who started as the handyman constructing bikes, said families would sometimes arrive in cars like a Volkswagen Beetle.

He could only think of one time they couldn’t fit everything in the car and had to make a delivery afterward.

Schmitz said that in those days, parents would submit shopping lists, which he, Linda, other bank employees and volunteers like Brad used to shop for the children.

“There were certain things, when you had a list,” Brad Baker said. “They were on the list, so the kids expect one.”

The dedication showed early on. Operation St. Nick held its inaugural radio auction in 1983, the same year that Cabbage Patch Kids became the most coveted toy on the market.

That was during the first few years of running Operation St. Nick, and 19 girls on the list wanted Cabbage Patch Kids.

So Schmitz went on a journey.

“There was a store in Morris called Coast to Coast, and I went down to see them and asked if they had any Cabbage Patch dolls,” Schmitz said. “He told me, ‘Come here,’ and took me to the back room. He showed me a list, two pages long, of people who wanted Cabbage Patch dolls. I told him if he’s got any he can give me, I’ve got 19 girls that want them.”

He wasn’t having much luck until he got a call from John Fletcher.

“I went down to the store, and he said, ‘I got 24 Cabbage Patch dolls in. He said ‘You get your choice. Take none of them or all of them,’” Schmitz said.

All 19 children received Cabbage Patch Kids. A 20th doll was sold during the radio auction.

In December 2025, Operation St. Nick surpassed $3 million in total funds raised over its lifetime. The organization now spends about $250,000 each year.

About $120,000 supports its Christmas program, with another $45,000 dedicated to its military program. The organization also allocates about $40,000 for back-to-school efforts, $10,000 for its bike program, $20,000 for family assistance and about $5,000 for gas cards and food. Remaining funds are reserved for other expenses.

The program is run entirely by volunteers.

The annual military program, named in memory of Lorraine Davidson, accepts applications from Memorial Day through July 4. Since its start in 2011, the program has spent about $500,000 supporting veterans and their families.

“It’s rewarding,” Schmitz said. “You help a vet like that, and they’re so appreciative.”

He said they’ve helped veterans with home repairs, catching up on their bills and paying rent. They have also helped soldiers visit home to surprise their families.

For the back-to-school program, Operation St. Nick spends $200 a child on school clothing and shoes. When the program started, the per-student budget was $75, but Operation St. Nick has since partnered with We Care of Grundy County to merge their programs. Operation St. Nick provides clothes, and We Care of Grundy County provides school supplies.

The 2025 back-to-school program helped 200 children.

The bike program started when the Black family donated about $10,000 and said they wanted to ensure every child in Morris had a bike, Schmitz said.

The program now runs through the Ambucs Grundy Area.

“It’s really special,” Schmitz said. “It’s an experience you’ll never forget.”

Ambucs is an organization that provides specially made bicycles for people with special needs.

In recent years, Operation St. Nick has also assisted families facing emergencies, including those who have lost their homes to fires, as well as provided gas cards for families traveling out of town for medical appointments.

St. Nick is busy year-round.

Schmitz said in 2023 that the idea for Operation St. Nick first started in Streator.

His father worked with the Tavern Keepers League, providing food baskets around the holidays. When Joe and Carol moved to Morris, someone gave him $500 and told him to make a positive impact on a family.

For more than 45 years, the Schmitz family has joined Operation St. Nick volunteers in doing just that.

The Operation St. Nick board consists of President Guy Christensen, Vice President Brad Baker, Treasurer Scott Shannon and Secretary Kathy Dale. Other board members include Joe Schmitz, Carol Schmitz, Linda Baker, Kathy Lambros, Missy Durkin, Katie Christensen, Brooke Katcher and Karla Harrington.

Auction items

Operation St. Nick’s work is what makes the group special, but the items featured each year in the radio auction on 104.3 WCSJ are also an important part of its impact.

In 2025 alone, an old-fashioned phone booth from near Clayton’s Tap in Morris was among the items sold.

“That may have been the craziest thing we’ve ever had,” Schmitz said.

Guy Christensen agreed. The small wooden structure still had its rotary phone.

“We had to go over to Seneca to get it and make the connection with them,” Brad Baker said. “Then we just couldn’t grab hold of it, right? It was heavy and awkward.”

Grundy Bank at 201 Liberty St. serves as the home for all auction items in the month leading up to the December event. Its lobby is filled with mostly donated items, including autographed sports memorabilia, music collectibles, paintings, high-end liquor, and even a race car featured in Morris Cruise Nights.

No one really knows what will turn up at the auction. Some of the largest proceeds often come from the memorial hour, where donors have contributed as much as $47,500 to have their family remembered live on the air during the radio auction.