(The Associated Press circulated the following article on November 18.)
KINGSPORT, Tenn. — The Santa Train is ready for its 62nd run through the mountains.
A lot of folks in Appalachia say the train brought the only gifts they received as children.
Sixty-four-year-old Susan Kidd of Atlanta is one of them. She’s among volunteers who helped box and load nearly 15 tons of treats to be handed out from the special C-S-X train on Saturday.
The Santa Train began in the early 1940’s, sponsored by the Kingsport Merchants Association, to thank people for shopping in the city.
The train pulls out from Shelbiana (shel-bee-AA’-nuh), Kentucky, Saturday morning, making brief stops at a dozen places in Kentucky and Virginia before rolling into Kingsport (Tennessee) in time for the Christmas parade, which steps off at three p-m.