LOCAL UNION DELIVERS CHRISTMAS CHEER TO MANY OF AREA'S NEEDY

To the area's needy, Fred Kelley might as well be Santa Claus.

His Craftsman Independent Union distributed about 450 food baskets and several boxes of toys to needy area residents Thursday.

Kelley grew up in Smelterville, an area along the southern edge of Cape Girardeau. He saw poverty up close.

Kelley is president and business manger of the Craftsman Independent Union in Cape Girardeau. The union encompasses about 600 workers.

Kelley still identifies with the city's poor, many of whom he has known personally for years.

That was evident Thursday morning as people filed into the old Craftsman union building at Sprigg and Good Hope to receive food baskets, as well as a few toys for their children.

Dressed in a tan overcoat and black hat, Kelley exchanged greetings with the people in line.

"How are you doing, buddy?" he asked one man who was bundled up in a red jacket.

"Hi, Billy. How are you doing partner?" he asked another.

Many of those in line exchanged Christmas greetings with Kelley.

A union member checked off names on a list as each individual stepped forward to receive the Christmas baskets.

When one gray-haired woman's name couldn't be found on the list, Kelley gave her a basket of food anyway.

"We don't turn anybody away," he said.

"They really appreciate this," he said, gesturing toward the crowd of people. "They don't have the money to buy anything."

Some of the people in line had done construction work for Kelley in the past. Most are unemployed.

For them, the large wooden baskets of food mean they can have a real Christmas dinner. In the baskets are canned goods, apples, oranges, bananas, eggs, bacon, chicken, bread, and either beans or rice.

Kelley and his union have been spreading Christmas cheer for 11 years. "It started off with 50 food baskets," Kelley recalled.

Next year, he hopes to hand out as many as 600 food baskets.

Kelley said the food and toys were purchased out of contributions made by the union's members.

One hundred food baskets were picked up by workers with the Missouri Division of Aging for distribution to the area's elderly residents, many of whom are homebound.

Other food baskets were hauled off by church groups that planned to hand them out to the needy.

"We are thankful because we have done so well. We just want to share our blessings with everyone else," Kelley said.