Santa train tosses tons of presents to Applachian families
(The Associated Press circulated the following article by Samira Jafari on November 18.)
SHELBIANA, Ky. – It’s been a rough year for Shirley Hopkins.
Her son’s unexpected death in January left her with two grandchildren to raise, and her daughter dropping out of high school left her another.
And so, she woke up before sunrise Saturday morning, bundled up her three grandchildren and arrived at the train station in Shelbiana, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Santa Special with dozens of other families.
The CSX train rolled in faithfully for its 64th year, with volunteers tossing armfuls of candy, Moon Pies, coloring books, dolls and other toys into the crowd.
Sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce in Kingsport, Tenn., and CSX Transportation Inc., the train delivers more than 15 tons of Christmas gifts to children living along a 110-mile stretch in the rural mountain communities of eastern Kentucky, western Virginia and northeast Tennessee.
Hopkins’ 2-year-old granddaughter, Olivia, walked away clutching a miniature stuffed bear.
“I’m raising three children on a fixed income, so this helps me out,” said Hopkins, of Cloy.
Kingsport merchants started the Santa Special to show their appreciation to customers and help families with little money around Christmas. The gifts are collected through community donations.
While stories of need are still common in the crowds, the event has evolved into an annual tradition for all sorts of families. Most show up to the stops, armed with digital cameras and camcorders, to jump-start the holiday season for the kids with a few early gifts from Santa.
“They are tickled to death,” said Carolyn Hamilton, of Betsy Lane, who brought her 7-year-old grandson and 4-year-old granddaughter to catch presents for the first time at the event. “They wanted to see Santa.”
Her daughter, Wendy Schindle