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It is hard to believe all of this could be planned and take place in five days. The idea started after waking up at 3:00 a.m. with this idea to find a way to help provide a little bit of the Christmas spirit to those who may possible have to do without. I knew of this very small town along the railroad that I volunteer on. Allenville, MO only had 103 residents with about 25-30 children. There was no doubt this was going to be the town picked to do whatever could be done to help bring a little extra for Christmas.
On Monday morning, December 14, 2009, I went to the boss to ask if he would mind me talking to a few co-workers about donating a few dollars to help buy some simple toys. I figured if we could collect around $50-$75 we could buy a couple of little items and some fresh fruit for each of the kids. The boss said no you cannot contact a few; I want this to go out to the whole department. By Thursday, we not only had bags and bags of stuffed animals and children books, but we had collected ten times more than I had hoped for. With almost $500 in cash, we were able to buy several gifts for each of the kids and help in the purchase of playground equipment for the park.
Word of this project spread to family and to my wife’s co-workers. They started providing coats and clothing. My younger daughter and friends began baking and making Rice Krispies Squares. Soon the living room was packed with large bags overflowing with items. Now came the task of trying to pack everything into the car.
Allenville, MO village hall
I arrived Friday afternoon and met the preacher of the only church in town. We met at the village hall. The room was only about 25’x 25’ with a few chairs and a couple of tables. It was quickly obvious there wasn’t going to be enough tables so a few men headed up to the church to bring down more tables. We unloaded all the bags and set everything up for the next day.
I had commented on the fact that I think we had brought enough clothing that all 103 residents could find something.
It was then that the pastor told us they lost the father of two children in a car accident the day before. How could we possible bring any joy to this family? Friday night ended very late after numerous phone calls to residents and the neighboring town’s fire department chief.
Bright and early on Saturday morning, everyone was gathered in the hall to hear a special announcement from the mayor. "We have a special guest who is on his way to visit us this morning." It wasn’t the sound of sleigh bells, or the prancing of reindeer but we did heard the sounds of sirens and air horns and all the kids raced out the door.
Can you imagine the surprise on every child’s face when they raced outside to see what was going on. While it was a little chilly when we first arrived, there was now a steady strong and rather cold northern wind as if it was coming directly from the North Pole. As we looked up the road, it was Santa himself riding into town on a fire truck provided by the volunteer fire department of Whitewater, MO.
Santa was warmly greeted by all the children despite the cold wind and quickly ushered into the warmth of the hall. The children gathered around as Santa greeted each one asking what their wish was for Christmas. Santa had brought along a friend. Cinders the Bear from the St. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad had joined him to help deliver the gifts and a $307.00 gift certificate to the village to help purchase playground equipment for all the children to enjoy.
Each of the children took their seat on Santa’s lap. Even the triplets got to tell Santa what they each wanted. The children were then greeted by other volunteers who helped them pick out food, gifts and clothing. The hall may have been very small but it was packed with tearful “thank you’s” and even more tearful “you’re welcome’s”.
On behalf of Santa, Cinders, Mayor Anglin, Pastor Phil, the parents and especially the children of Allenville, I will close with a very heartfelt Merry Christmas to All and Thank You So Much!
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