Post by admin on Dec 12, 2009 22:52:56 GMT -5
Dolls, action figures, more gifts delivered to 700 kids
FREEHOLD — ON THE WEB: Visit
APP.com to see a gallery of more photographs of this event.
Santa Claus arrived a little after 12 — noon, not midnight. And instead of arriving via a reindeer-pulled sleigh, Santa rode a three-car train — two engines and a caboose — into town, waving from the catwalk of the front engine.
Neither the timing nor the transportation diminished the Christmas spirit for the hundreds of kids waiting at the corner of Main and Throckmorton streets.
"They're amazed to see the train coming into town with Santa," said Ted Celen, a Conrail railroad worker who has been part of the annual Santa Train since it began about 25 years ago.
The annual Santa Train — offered by Conrail workers, their families and friends, and local residents — has become a tradition.
Along the approximately 20 miles of track between Conrail's Browns Yard in Old Bridge to Freehold, adults and children, some with cameras, wait by the tracks for the train, decorated with garland, Christmas tree-type ornaments, candy canes and a big wreath on the front of the engine.
Here, Santa — Conrail worker John Keim, 54, of Belmar — stepped down and took his place in a chair, posing for free photographs with children. Gifts — battery-operated toothbrushes, dolls, stuffed animals, action figures, jump ropes, toy cars and candy — were handed out by volunteers affiliated with the railroad or co-sponsor Policemen's Benevolent Association 159, the union representing about 30 borough police officers.
The gifts were provided by Conrail and the PBA. The PBA, for example, spent about $800 to $1,000 this year, plus got donations from local businesses, said Police Sgt. Chris Colaner, the local organizer.
"It's nice," said Valeria Franco, 13, who lives in town. "You see Santa Claus."
As Jahki Valentine, 12, left, she said the Santa Train program helps those who are less fortunate than she is.
"It helps kids who don't have anything," Jahki said.
"This is open to anybody," Colaner said. "But I'm sure there are kids (that) this could be the only gift they're getting."
www.app.com/article/20091212/NEWS/912120335/1285/LOCAL09/Dolls++action+figures++more+gifts+delivered+to+700+kids
FREEHOLD — ON THE WEB: Visit
APP.com to see a gallery of more photographs of this event.
Santa Claus arrived a little after 12 — noon, not midnight. And instead of arriving via a reindeer-pulled sleigh, Santa rode a three-car train — two engines and a caboose — into town, waving from the catwalk of the front engine.
Neither the timing nor the transportation diminished the Christmas spirit for the hundreds of kids waiting at the corner of Main and Throckmorton streets.
"They're amazed to see the train coming into town with Santa," said Ted Celen, a Conrail railroad worker who has been part of the annual Santa Train since it began about 25 years ago.
The annual Santa Train — offered by Conrail workers, their families and friends, and local residents — has become a tradition.
Along the approximately 20 miles of track between Conrail's Browns Yard in Old Bridge to Freehold, adults and children, some with cameras, wait by the tracks for the train, decorated with garland, Christmas tree-type ornaments, candy canes and a big wreath on the front of the engine.
Here, Santa — Conrail worker John Keim, 54, of Belmar — stepped down and took his place in a chair, posing for free photographs with children. Gifts — battery-operated toothbrushes, dolls, stuffed animals, action figures, jump ropes, toy cars and candy — were handed out by volunteers affiliated with the railroad or co-sponsor Policemen's Benevolent Association 159, the union representing about 30 borough police officers.
The gifts were provided by Conrail and the PBA. The PBA, for example, spent about $800 to $1,000 this year, plus got donations from local businesses, said Police Sgt. Chris Colaner, the local organizer.
"It's nice," said Valeria Franco, 13, who lives in town. "You see Santa Claus."
As Jahki Valentine, 12, left, she said the Santa Train program helps those who are less fortunate than she is.
"It helps kids who don't have anything," Jahki said.
"This is open to anybody," Colaner said. "But I'm sure there are kids (that) this could be the only gift they're getting."
www.app.com/article/20091212/NEWS/912120335/1285/LOCAL09/Dolls++action+figures++more+gifts+delivered+to+700+kids