More jolly than he is grouchy, Tupelo’s very own grinch has become a local Christmas tradition.
Written and Researched by Leslie Criss | Photographed by Leticia Gassaway
“I love the sheer excitement of others ... It’s worth everything.” — Louis Armour
Louis Armour is not a mean one or a monster, and his heart is certainly not an empty hole. Even when he becomes the Tupelo Grinch each holiday season, his good-guy personality cannot be hidden under all that Grinch-green fur. Unlike Dr. Seuss’ Grinch, Armour’s Tupelo Grinch helps bring the spirit of Christmas to others rather than steal it.
Fifteen years ago, Armour’s daughter Kristyn Martz, a talented member of the West of Shake Rag improv team, dressed as a reindeer and gave out candy to kids at the mall. For a few years, her dad tagged along as her security. Then he decided to join her as the Tupelo Grinch.
At some point, Martz traded in her reindeer costume and became Constable Whodunnit, parole officer of the Tupelo Grinch. And the rest has become a part of Christmas history in northeast Mississippi.
The duo, along with Victor Armstrong who’s been friends with Armour since eighth grade, have visited schools, nursing homes and been in the Reed’s annual Tupelo Christmas Parade, where they’ve won best parade float multiple times.
Becoming the Tupelo Grinch is not easy. Armour wears a cooling vest underneath the fur, and it takes almost three hours to make the change from human to Grinch.
“That thing holds heat like you wouldn’t believe,” he said. “I can’t find anyone who wants to do it after me. I’ve found people who don’t mind doing it once, but that’s it. I’m 69 now. But Kristyn always says, ‘Dad, you know you want to keep doing it.’”
It seems daughter knows best. When Armour makes contact with the kids, their joy — and his — abounds.
“That’s why I do it,” he said. “To see the excitement on the faces of the kids.”
When they are invited to appear, there is no fee. Makeup, maintenance of the annual float and costume all come out of their own pockets. “We’d love to have a sponsor, but it just hasn’t happened,” Armour said.
At most visits, especially to schools, Armour tells Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” as a first-person story to the kids (he knows it by heart). Adults are fans, as well. So, in the end, it’s the people of all ages, for whom Armour spreads his unique brand of Christmas cheer.
“I love the sheer excitement of others,” Armour said. “The squealing and screaming of the kids in an audience. And in the parade, when we pass the people, it’s personal. We interact with folks on both sides of the street. It’s worth everything.”
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