(The following article by J.H. Osborne was posted on the Kingsport Times News website on November 18.)
ABOARD THE SANTA CLAUS SPECIAL — Some jobs just call for your bare hands. So, the gloves came off early Saturday morning for Alison Krauss.
The Grammy Award-winning singer made it through a few minutes of toy- and candy-tossing from the back of the Santa Claus Special before peeling off her black leather gloves.
Sure it was cold – it was just after daybreak at Shelby, Ky., the starting point for the 64th annual, running of the Special, better known as “The Santa Train.”
But Krauss went gloveless about half way through the first gift toss of the day – scheduled to last 10 minutes.
Scores of families had gathered at CSX Transportation’s Shelby railroad yard before dawn, before Krauss arrived to board the train for the 110-mile, 14-stop journey to Kingsport.
Elf-work is hard work for those lucky enough to pull even a single shift with The Jolly Old Elf himself at the back of the Special.
Krauss worked right alongside Santa for the better part of the eight-hour trip, earning “real trooper” kudos from longtime “elves.”
She sometimes dug her hands into the bins full of small candy that are shuffled onto the train’s rear platform at each stop, and heaped handfuls into the waiting crowds. But at each stop that she worked with Santa, Krauss took pains also to scan the sea of upstretched arms and pick specific children to toss toys and other gifts toward – more than once she reached far beyond the platform’s railing to send a toy in the right direction.
Santa and his helpers only toss gifts from the train at scheduled stops. All tossing stops the moment the train begins to depart each stop, often leaving children – of all ages – still shouting “here, here,” or “throw me something.”
Krauss could be seen trying to make eye contact with as many as she could, mouthing “I’m sorry … I’m sorry,” as the train pulled away at several stops.
Toward the end of the route she told reporters she feels fortunate to have a career that includes opportunities to be included in things like the Santa Train.
As for her expectations of what the Santa Train experience would be like, Krauss said even telling others she was going to ride the train had proved a challenge over the last few weeks.
“I couldn’t relay the story to anybody without getting emotional,” Krauss said.
During a short break about six hours into the journey, Krauss said the day had been “unbelievable.”
“It’s an amazing thing to get to be a part of,” Krauss said. “I never thought in a million years I would get to have the kind of job I have – and there are things that go along with this job that are unbelievable and that you could never forget, and this is one of those things.”
On a lighter note, Krauss confirmed that when she visits the Northeast Tennessee/Southwest Virginia region she often indulges in some regional fare: Pal’s sauceburgers and Pal’s peanut butter milkshakes.
As the train moved across Kentucky (four stops, including the starting point), the day unfolded into one of sunny skies and mild temperatures. Large crowds awaited the train at each of its stops in Kentucky, Virginia (nine stops), and Tennessee (Kingsport).
One of the largest, perhaps second only to downtown Kingsport – where the Kingsport Christmas Parade was in mid-swing as Santa arrived – was in St. Paul, Va., where hundreds of children and adults swarmed across the tracks behind the train.
Like most anywhere along the route, with some subtle differences, came the call over and over: “Santa,” “San-tee,” or “Sainty.”
Santa stays on the rear platform for the whole trip. People wait all along the route just to catch a glimpse. For many it is a family tradition. At each stop Saturday it was usual to see three or four generations of a family waiting to see the train, give the children a look at Santa, and maybe get a little something.
Some people crowd right up as close as they can get. Others hang back, either too shy or for one reason or the other unable to enter the scramble.
Adrianna Sgarlata, the reigning Miss Virginia (2006) also journeyed from Kentucky to Kingsport on this year’s Santa Train.
Sgarlata, crowned in June and on her way to the Miss America pageant in January, worked as a member of the train’s “ground crew” – getting off at each stop to distribute small gifts to those people around the far reaches of the crowds.
She heard about the Santa Train from a neighbor in her native Fairfax, in Northern Virginia, and committed to make the trip a couple of months ago.
She said she thought it sounded like a good way to visit some parts of the state that Miss Virginia might not ordinarily see – and was a great chance to visit, briefly, with the children.
At early stops, Sgarlata went out into the crowds without her Miss Virginia crown. Reporters later asked her to wear it at least once so they could get pictures. She complied, and reporters weren’t the only ones asking for photos. The crown was an immediate hit, with little girls – and adults.
“Who are you,” an adult would ask. Children were a little more fantastical – more like “who’s the princess lady?”
Cameras often were whipped out as soon as someone answered “Miss Virginia.”
“The people are so nice,” Sgarlata said. “And everyone is so grateful and appreciative. They seem really excited to see Santa and the train and to have the tradition continue. This is the Santa Train’s 64th run. The people who’ve kept it going have just done a wonderful job.”
The Santa Train is an annual project of Food City, the Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce and CSX Transportation.
It began as a way to show appreciation to residents of Southwest Virginia and Eastern Kentucky for shopping in Kingsport.
The 15 tons of gifts, toys, clothing and candies distributed along its route Saturday were donated over the past year by businesses and individuals from across the country.