Shortages, sickness overcome to complete Toybox deliveries

A shortage of Santas and a case of the flu nearly left the Cape Girardeau Jaycees without adequate help on Toybox delivery night, but the children who received the gifts never would have guessed it.

More than 1,400 children -- about 545 families in the city -- received help from the program, which provides Christmas gifts to needy children up to age 12.

Toybox had more routes to deliver this year than in the past, which required more Santas than ever, and when one Santa called in sick, a few children were enlisted to help with the deliveries.

When Katie Peel, 12, tucked her long, brown hair under a wig and dressed in a red, velvet suit, she became the youngest Santa in Jaycee history, said Lisa Seabaugh, Toybox organizer.

But it didn't matter their age or appearance as long as Santa came bearing gifts.

Swaneisha Betts, 7, wasn't sure if she'd be getting a new Barbie or a lump of coal from Santa Claus this year.

"If you're not good you get the lump of coal," she said.

But it turned out she'd been pretty good. She got a Barbie, a cookie-baking oven and headphones.

"Even I get excited about Santa," said her great-aunt Fannie Patterson as Santa, also known as Joe Lindsey, unpacked his bag of gifts.

Toybox, a joint program of the Jaycees and Southeast Missourian, has been providing needy children with gifts for nearly 29 years.

"A lot of kids wouldn't have Christmas without it," said Jerry Welch, who returns for Toybox deliveries even though he's no longer affiliated with the Jaycees.

But this year was a tough one for the Jaycees, who saw an increase in applications and a dip in donations. A week before delivery, organizers worried that there wouldn't be enough to fill all the requests. But the community pulled through at the end, and every child received a gift.

April and Alex Rosenthal eagerly opened the door to their home and invited Santa inside. He came bearing plenty of gifts and even mittens to keep their hands warm in cold weather.

This is only the second time in five years that Toybox has delivered the family's gifts, said their mother, Arrawanna Rosenthal. "I'm going to let them open one tonight," she said. "And they'll have to save the rest for Christmas."

Pam Jenkins let her daughter, Alyssa Nunley, open all the gifts she received. "It all looks like good stuff," Jenkins said.

Alyssa was most excited about the cotton candy machine that Santa brought.

But Alyssa couldn't be fooled -- she knew that Butch Newcomer was only dressed up as Santa.

"He's not real because it's not a real beard," she said.

And like Alyssa, 5-year-old Addie Stucker couldn't be fooled by a man in a red suit. She came to help her dad, Chuck, deliver the toys and watched as the 22 Santas donned red outfits.

"They're just dressing up," she explained.

Santa practice

Yet some Santas took their job to heart, practicing "Ho-ho-hos" and trying to come up with good explanations for all the questions children would ask. All these Santas and their elves delivered the gifts in vans, not sleighs.

Darryl Huggins knew to tell the children that the reindeer were tired and had to rest before Christmas Eve, so he had to use a van instead.

"I've been practicing," he said.

Roger Harms made 16 stops to deliver gifts and received a treat at nearly every one.

"I got good questions," he said.

Few of the children that young Santa Katie Peel visited got a chance to ask any questions because they were recovering from surgery. Peel and youth from First Baptist Church helped deliver gifts to the hospitals.

"The wig itched," Katie said.

But the trip was worth it to see a child's face light up when he saw the Legos, said church youth director Lynn Harper.

And they were cool toys, Anne Peel, 15, said.

"I'd have liked to play with them."

Contributions are still being accepted for Toybox. Mail tax-deductible donations to Toybox Trust at P.O. Box 4, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63702-0004.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126

Browse photos of the Toybox deliveries