(The Associated Press circulated the following story by Samira Jafari on November 14.)
PIKEVILLE, Ky. — She was a 6-year-old playing in the backyard of her family’s remote home in rural Appalachia when she heard the train cross the river. That’s when Patty Loveless first saw Santa Claus waving from the caboose: “I had to do a double-take.”
The moment was so unbelievable, that she kept it secret from her brothers and sisters.
It would be decades later before the longtime country star would join the big man on the Santa Train – the famed CSX locomotive that makes stops in the mountains as volunteers toss armfuls of candy, Moon Pies, coloring books, dolls and other toys into the crowds, often made up of families in need.
Loveless, a native of eastern Kentucky’s Pike County, will be taking her third trip aboard the train on Saturday, during its 65th annual run.
“I just hope I can put a wonderful memory in their minds and bring some kind of joy to them,” she said in a recent phone interview from her home in suburban Atlanta.
Loveless, the sixth out of seven siblings, recalled childhood Christmases in the mountains with her mother and father, a coal miner. While gift-giving was a relatively modest affair – usually a single toy for each of the children – she enjoyed her older brothers and sisters returning home.
She said she never realized her secret sighting of Santa Claus was actually the Santa Train passing by her hollow until she was invited to ride the train for the first time nearly 10 years ago.
“They mentioned what it was about, then it all came back to me,” she said.
Her first ride aboard the Santa Train was so moving, she said, that she and producer-husband Emory Gordy Jr. wrote a song about the train for her 2002 Christmas album, “Bluegrass and White Snow.”
“It just warmed my heart and, at the same time, it took me back to being a child growing up there,” she said.
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.
Kingsport merchants started the Santa Train 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.
While the kids endure the cold temperatures for snacks, presents and a glimpse of Santa, many adults bundled up to cheer on the celebrities on board.
Loveless has been a Santa Train hit.
“She helps represent that area, she makes it very special,” said CSX spokeswoman Meg Sacks.
Past participants include Alison Krauss, Naomi Judd, Travis Tritt, Kree Harrison, Rebecca Lynn Howard and scores of politicians.
Loveless said she would try to get off the train and meet the families braving the chilly weather.
“I want to make a connection with them,” she said, “Instead of just staying in the back of the caboose.”