Mr. Jingeling, the "Keeper of the Keys", has long been a mainstay of the holidays in Cleveland, Ohio.  Mr. Jingeling first appeared on the Cleveland airwaves of WEWS TV in 1956 as a spokesman for the Halle Brothers department store. The original idea behind Mr. Jingeling was to promote the toys that Halle's was featuring at their store.  Becoming hugely popular, the character of Mr. Jingeling soon took on a new role and was giving more air time to tell stories about his adventures as a key maker who ultimately was appointed by Santa to be one of his favorite elves... the "Keeper of the Keys".

Mr. Jingeling also made personal appearances "on Halle's seventh floor", as the song goes, to entertain and engage young and old alike. After Halle's closed its doors, Mr. Jingeling began appearing at rival Higbee's department store and more recently at several venues across Northeast Ohio.

Mr. Jingeling became known for passing out "Good Luck Keys" to children during their visits with him.

Those fortunate men to have personified
Mr. Jingeling over the years:

Tom Moviel
Max Ellis
Karl Mackey
Earl Keyes
Jonathon Wilhelm (current, photo below)