KINGSPORT, Tenn. — It’s the type frenzy usually associated with gleeful children ripping packages open, the Kingsport Times-News reported.
But Wednesday night at Ed Moore’s Food City, it was the type enthusiasm scores of volunteers had while packing up an estimated 15 tons of toys, candy and other goodies – all bound for distribution this weekend by the Santa Train.
“This is the best year in the 10 years I’ve been doing this,” Moore said of the amount of goods donated for the Santa Train’s 60th run from Pikeville, Ky., to downtown Kingsport on Saturday.
“It’s the most toys I’ve ever gotten, and it’s probably the most volunteers I’ve ever had ask to be involved,” Moore said.
The makeshift “elf-run” assembly line at the front of the Food City on Eastman Road, which Moore manages, processed the 15 tons of gifts – plus or minus – in less than an hour and a half.
Sponsored today by CSX Transportation Inc. – which operates the railroad – and the Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce, the Santa Train began in the early 1940s as a way for the Kingsport Merchants Association – precursor to the chamber – to say “thanks for shopping in Kingsport” to all those who live along the 110-mile route.
At first, Santa’s treats to children – tossed from the back of a regular-schedule passenger train – consisted primarily of hard candy or a pencil or writing tablet and were paid for by the chamber.
Toys soon joined the mix, and in those early years there were children whose only Christmas gift came from the Santa Train.
Now gifts and cash donations pour in year-round from across the country and in some cases from around the world – and for most along the route, the Santa Train is primarily a holiday tradition, not a sole source of gifts.
A part of the tradition that continues to grow is the community spirit it prompts, Moore and others involved in the effort say.
In addition to the more than 50 community volunteers who worked the assembly line Wednesday, “elves” from the chamber’s Keep Kingsport Beautiful program and students from the chamber’s Leadership Kingsport Shout! program worked to recycle the cardboard boxes in which the gifts had been stored. The recycling project is done through a cooperative effort of Keep Kingsport Beautiful, BFI, Waste Management and Food City.
The packaged items will be loaded onto the Santa Train Friday afternoon.
The Santa Train will leave Kingsport Friday at 1 p.m. from the Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce at 151 E. Main St. and return Saturday at 3 p.m., just in time for Santa to join in the annual Kingsport Christmas Parade.
The Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce is a membership organization composed of nearly 1,000 members. The chamber’s mission is to utilize resources and focus efforts on enhancing a strong and viable business environment for the Kingsport area. The Kingsport chamber has been accredited by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for 20 years.