Operation Toy Train rides through town

It was a winter wonderland as Operation Toy Train stopped at Sugar Loaf the morning of Dec. 14.

Seven inches of fresh powder was on the ground from the day before. The storm had just cleared up as several dozen people gathered at Valkyrie Coffee Roasters in the old Sugar Loaf train station building, awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus via train.

Operation Toy Train is a charitable cause that donates toys to less-fortunate children of military veterans. On their official Facebook page, the organization said that over the course of a month, they made 71 stops in 68 towns across five states, bringing in a total of 65,426 toys. It was the most toys they ever gathered, they said.

The Sugar Loaf stop came on their final day. They also stopped in Warwick, Walden, Montgomery, Campbell Hall and Middletown the same afternoon. At Sugar Loaf, they collected 766 toys, which was down from over 1,300 last year. Volunteers said this was likely because of the snow.

“Each stop is a friendly competition to see who gets the most,” volunteer Heidi Schmid said. Of the Orange County stops, Montgomery brought in the most gifts with 2,141.

It was the first year that the storefront was owned by Valkyrie.

“It’s a blessing to be able to host it,” proprietor Dakota Rudolph said.

The former owner of the storefront was Anne Marie’s Deli, who carried on her tradition of helping the event by giving away free hot cocoa to anyone who wanted something warm on the cold morning.

The arrival of Santa from the train brought the Christmas spirit to one and all.

“I’ve been in the Christmas spirit, can’t you tell?” volunteer Charlie Noseworthy said, alluding to his white beard, which helps him entertain children as Santa Claus during the holiday season.

Noseworthy brought three bags on toys for children of all different ages. He praised the community for getting together on a good cause.

The train picked up the most gifts on Dec. 13 in New Jersey. Over 13 stops, they gathered 24,357 gifts. The single township with the most gifts given was Jamesburg, N.J. on Nov. 30. They collected 10,786 gifts.

Other states involved in the cause were Pennsylvania, Connecticut and California.