Kids day brings joy

By Staff
60th annual event plays Santa for 460 children
Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Members of American Legion Post 52 and its Auxiliary brought smiles to the faces of more than 450 children of needy Morgan County families on Friday as they joined with Santa and other volunteers to present their 60th Kids Day Program at Sparkman Civic Center in Hartselle.
Santa presented an age-appropriate wrapped gift to each child after his or her name was called by Bill Partridge, project coordinator. His helpers distributed bags of fruit and candy to the children as they left the building to board buses and return to their respective schools.
Volunteers wrapped the gifts the day before. They included six members of the Hartselle High School baseball team, Luke Holt, Zac Bodley, Ethan Widener, J.C. Bates, Will Chappell and Tony Weaver. Bodley and Chappell returned on Friday to help with the distribution of the gifts. State Representative Ronald Grantland also served as a volunteer.
The gift recipients were of ages five through nine and represented Hartselle’s three elementary schools—F. E. Burleson, Barkley Bridge and Crestline—in addition to Danville -Neel, Sparkman, Falkville, Ryan, Union Hill, Cotaco and Lacey’s Spring.
Will Chappell added, “I think it’s a really good project. It helps the families that aren’t able to buy gifts and at the same time it enables their kids to still have a good Christmas.”