For the past nine years the Dacusville Lions Club has donated its
time, money and toys to the Country
Santa Program. In 2019, the Country Santa Program donated
toys to over 3300 children in the upstate.
Bill Handley - President, is shown
presenting a check to the
County Santa (Clemson shirt)
Shown in photo, (r to l) Joe Basso, Bill Hanley, Bob Spalding, Buddy
Cox (Country Santa),
Tim Scully and Bill Bradley
Not shown - Deanna Hardin -
Photographer
Monroe Chastain and Bob Spalding are the two
main members of the club who work with this program. They
start working on the Monday after Thanksgiving, 8-10 hours/day, 7
days a week through Dec. 24. Then they are back on Dec. 26 to
close the program down for the year.
Other members of the club help
out at various times during December, collecting toys from the drop
sites, bagging the toys, etc. According to the the Country Santa
(aka Buddy Cox) " I could not run this program without them".
Spalding has worked 36+
years.
Spalding says, "I got started with the program when I was an
Extension Agent working with 4-H in 1983. I took a group of
teens to donate toys and I never left. Several of the former 4-H'er
members still work at various time during the month. It gets
in your blood."
Spalding says that one of the
most memorable moments was when he and his daughter Deanna were
returning home from delivering toys in 1983 and Deanna said
" You know daddy, this is what Christmas is
all about."
