(Source: Louisville Courier-Journal, November 20, 2018)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Santa Train tradition began in 1943 when Flem Dobyns decided he wanted to thank the folks in the region who traveled through the mountains to buy implements of their life from his hardware store in Kingsport, Tennessee. That year, a group of businessmen boarded the Clinchfield Railroad’s passenger train near Shelbiana and rode it home, tossing candy off the back of the train to kids along the way.
Full story: www.courier-journal.com