BREMEN, Ky. — Santa Claus is used to working on the fly.
This Christmas, he took a little detour on his way back to the North Pole when he heard the nice boys and girls of Bremen, Kentucky, ravaged by a tornado two weeks earlier, needed to know Santa still loves them.
And so Art 'Santa Art' Hoffman loaded up his Prius sleigh with toys and trinkets, donned the bright red overalls he reserves for warm days and made the two-hour trek from Louisville to the tiny town in Muhlenberg County.
There wasn't a plan — other than spreading some much-needed cheer.
'I met Santa Claus'
A professional St. Nick for more than four decades, Hoffman parked at Nickolas' Corner, a store and gas station on Bremen's Main Street. Some folks pulled over when they spotted Santa, and others Hoffman implored to come back with their kids.
Harley Winn, 6, and Joshua Winn, 9, were surprised to see Santa in their town. They'd just been tracking his movements on the news channel the night before.
"What did you expect?" he asked them. "That I was going to come down your chimney?"
Santa gave them stickers declaring "I met Santa Claus" and coins officially placing them on the nice list.
"This makes their day," stepdad Ryan Vick said.
'I need all the help I can get'
Hoffman set off a half-mile down the road where roofers were busy installing new shingles on a wind-battered home.
"Santa has come to see you," he told the surprised homeowner, 92-year-old Inez Burden.
"I need all the help I can get," Burden replied.
"Because you're on the nice list, I made sure the roofers came out," he said.
Bremen proved to be so nice, Santa's detour will become Hoffman's planned pit stop next Christmas.
'They're still resilient'
Two days earlier, Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park looked a bit like Santa's workshop, as thousands of donations from First Lady Britainy Beshear's toy drive were up for grabs for families affected by the tornadoes.
Volunteers in Team Kentucky T-shirts continually restocked the tables, piling them high with board games, Legos, stuffed animals, baby dolls, books and volleyballs. All around them, kids excitedly stuffed bags and boxes full of toys as Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas is You' played.
An upbeat Gov. Andy Beshear likened it to a scene from a movie or a miracle coming out of the darkness.
"About 10 to 11 days ago, many of these kids were in a bathtub while their homes exploded around them, and today might be the first day that they've laughed," he said. "But they're walking around having the biggest Christmas imaginable. I can't tell you how many of them have gotten that gift that they really wanted the most and just seeing pure joy after everything they've been through is pretty special."
Lynn and Donna Mayhew — or Santa and Mrs. Claus to the kids at Pennyrile — came in from Owensboro to hand out candy. As foster adoptive parents, they have a heart for kids. Surrounded by toys and with two days until Christmas, they saw happy, smiling children.
"They're excited," Donna Mayhew said. "It kind of lifts your spirit. … They're still resilient. They keep going. It's amazing just to see how much they're having fun today. It has to make them feel a whole lot better.
Meredith Hyde, a Dawson Springs resident, attended with her 5-year-old granddaughter Alivia Fiveash, who gleefully snagged a stuffed dog. Hyde said Alivia goes lives in Dawson Springs and goes to school there, but was out-of-town for the storm.
"She doesn't understand that we don't have a house anymore," Hyde said after encouraging the preschooler to choose some toys. "She still thinks it's the same as it was before she left."
Alivia showed off her new puppy pillow, which she named Bella.
"'Cause it's for my new room," she said. "'Cause Gigi's house is gone 'cause it's broken from the storm."
Alivia said her trampoline is gone, but she's hopeful to get a new one — hopefully in pink — and a pink blanket with unicorns on it.
Photos on her Gigi's phone showed what used to be Alivia's room, her old toys covered in the shattered glass of the windows. "There is fun to be had," was emblazoned on one of the walls.
Hyde said her family will be OK. They'll rebuild their home.
There is still more fun to be had.
Reach Tessa Duvall at [email protected] and 502-582-4059. Twitter: @TessaDuvall.
