 
| Santa’s House was delivered to the Kmart parking lot Wednesday afternoon. Helping to deliver the jolly man’s house was (L to R) Joe Lardino, Art Gakstatter, Angie Tom, Kyle Tom and Harry Gigous. Sam Whitaker, not pictured, provided a law enforcement escort. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union. |
David Slone
Times-Union Staff Writer
Friday, November 23, 2007 Santa Claus is coming to town. In anticipation of his visit, his little red house was delivered to the Kmart parking lot Wednesday. Every year, the Breakfast Optimist Club sponsors Santa's House. Area children have the opportunity to visit the jolly big man in red and have a free photo taken with him. Last year, Santa visited with hundreds of kids and their parents, according to Angie Tom, Breakfast Optimist Club. After each visit, the children received a candy cane and their photo with ol' St. Nick. Everything is free because of the community's support, said Tom. The Breakfast Optimist Club donates the film for the pictures and other miscellaneous supplies. Kmart donates the electricity to run the house. Art Gakstatter, Harry Gigous, Sam Whitaker, Joe Lardino and Kyle Tom move the house into place, as well as donate their services by running the electricity and heat, and making the house operational. The candy canes are donated by Cookie Gakstatter. The Octagon club, which is a high school group sponsored by the Optimist Club, will be assisting again this year as Santa's helpers. Some Octagon members are bilingual, which is an opportunity for community members who speak other languages. Eighty volunteers will work on this project throughout the holiday season. Santa's House is located between Kmart and Hallmark. It will be open starting Dec. 1. Hours of operation are: Fridays, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 1 to 7:30 p.m.; and Sundays, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. The Breakfast Optimist Club serves the youth of our community. With about 120 members, about 90 regularly attend the Wednesday morning meetings at 6:30 a.m. during breakfast. Optimist members also sell Christmas trees at their new location on the Petro Brothers car lot, Ind. 15N, near Wal-Mart. All of the proceeds of the tree sales stay in the community for the youth. For more information or questions about these activities or the Optimist Club, call Angie Tom at 574-267-8781.
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