Santa Train

 

When I saw this stamp in the holiday catalog, it reminded me of an ongoing tradition in Appalachia, the Appalachia Santa train.  It was started in 1943 and is still going.  It was started by a merchant from Kingsport Tennessee who wanted to give back to all his customers as well as to the needy in Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. The train is loaded with food, clothing and toys and Santa throws the items from the train.  I grew up in this area but didn't live close enough to the train route to ever go but have seen footage on TV of people lined up for miles waiting for the train to come through.  I have a scrapbook started about my childhood and about the Appalachian area so I will be using this stamp in that for sure.  Here is a link to an article about the Appalachian Santa Train if you are interested.  Thanks for stopping by!