Superior students help spread Christmas joy

The Christmas Basket program has been organized as a group effort by several different organizations over the years.

The Superior LIONS Club has done much of the heavy lifting to spread good cheer to families in Mineral County who might need a helping hand. Women in Timber was a steady partner until so many of the members aged out making the organization phase out many community activities they were involved in.

“The LIONS got together and liked the program enough that they all decided they wanted to save it. So that’s what’s happened the last couple of years as WIT has transitioned out,” explained Steve Temple, as bags of toys purchased from local merchants were being brought into the Superior Volunteer Fire Department training room where they will be wrapped by more volunteers. “And what makes it really work is that Chris (Darlow) puts the baskets together. The LIONS pay for the food baskets and he and his employees put them together,” he said.

For the toys, Giving Trees had been stationed at Darlows Quality Foods and the St. Regis Travel Center. But fourth-grade teacher Stacy Crabb at Superior School had donation jars placed around the area at retail checkout counters asking for funds so that her class could also buy Christmas presents. This year between the donation jars and the other classes at Superior School, a total of $1,667.57 was raised.

Each of her 25 students had $50 to spend at local businesses on gifts that they felt the receiving kids would like on Christmas morning. $500 was left which was used to buy gift cards for older kids and fill the needs that hadn’t been met.

When asked how many years Mrs. Crabb’s class have been secret shoppers she laughs and said, “I don’t know! But we just came from Darlows after toy-shopping and 2 checkers were students of mine and they remembered doing it.”

The wrapping of toys is another volunteer job usually with Cabin Quilters and employees of Mineral Community Hospital at the SVFD the Wednesday evening before the Saturday delivery.

Temple explained that the number of baskets fluctuates.

“In past years they’ve been as high as 100 and then last year we had approximately 50. The challenge we face is that we have a really good program that has the capability to provide the food and presents. What we have to do is find the needy homes they need to go to.”

Applications for receiving the Christmas Baskets were at WIT, the three senior centers in the county and the schools.

“We distributed the applications throughout the county,” explained Kelann McLees. “The parent or guardian filled it out and returned it to the LIONS Club as there was an address on the form to mail it to. Or they brought them in here, too,” she said from her office as the Clerk and Recorder of Mineral County.

The night before Santa makes the delivery, the crew from Darlows and even more volunteers make up the food baskets for each home that have been purchased by the LIONS form the money they made at their Go for The Gold Rodeo this past summer at the Mineral County Fair. At 9 a.m. on D-Day, the LION’s membership met at their parking lot where the food baskets and bags of toys were loaded into trucks and then three teams went to houses between Alberton and Sula with their own Santa who knocked on the door with a big “Ho Ho Ho” greeting and the goodies are all dropped off.

It’s a two-minute visit because Santa and his elves had more stops but all deliveries were completed by early afternoon.

“Last year we had donations come in afterwards and we used that to buy some presents for this year,” said Peggy Temple, chairman of the Mineral Community Hospital board of directors. “Anything that comes in from this point on is kept for Christmas of 2023. The support has been very generous the past few years so children are receiving more than one present which makes everyone jollier!”