Even a tornado can't stop Santa from visiting the children of Kentucky

BREMEN, Kentucky – Santa Claus is used to working spontaneously.

This Christmas, he took a little detour on his way back to the North Pole when he heard that the boys and girls of Bremen, Kentucky, a town devastated by a tornado two weeks earlier, needed to know that Santa still loves them.

And so Art “Santa Art” Hoffman loaded his Prius sleigh with toys and knick-knacks, put on the bright red overalls he saves for warmer days, and set off on the two-hour journey from Louisville to the small town in Muhlenberg County.

There was no plan – other than to spread much-needed joy.

Hoffman, a professional Santa for more than four decades, parked at Nickolas' Corner, a store and gas station on Bremen's Main Street. Some people stopped when they saw Santa, and others begged Hoffman to come back with their children.

Harley Winn, 6, and Joshua Winn, 9, were surprised to see Santa Claus in their town after following his movements on the news channel the night before.

“What did you expect?” he asked them. “That I would come down your chimney?”

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Santa gave them stickers that said “I met Santa” and coins, officially putting them on the good people list.

“It makes her day,” said stepfather Ryan Vick.

Hoffman headed half a mile down the road, where roofers were busy installing new shingles on a wind-battered house.

“Santa Claus has come to visit 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 good list, I arranged for the roofers to come,” he said.

Bremen has turned out to be so nice that Santa's detour will be Hoffman's planned pit stop next Christmas.

Two days earlier, Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park looked a bit like Santa's workshop as thousands of donations from Kentucky First Lady Britainy Beshear's toy drive were collected for families affected by the tornadoes.

Volunteers in Team Kentucky T-shirts steadily restocked tables, piling them with board games, Legos, stuffed animals, baby dolls, books and volleyballs. All around them, children excitedly stuffed bags and boxes with toys as Mariah Carey's “All I Want for Christmas is You” played.

Optimistic Governor Andy Beshear compared it to a scene from a movie or a miracle coming out of the darkness.

“About 10 to 11 days ago, a lot of these kids were sitting in a bathtub while their houses exploded around them, and today may be the first day they're laughing,” he said. “But they're running around having the greatest Christmas you could imagine. I can't tell you how many of them got the gift they wanted the most, and just to see pure joy after everything they've been through is really special.”

Lynn and Donna Mayhew – representing Pennyrile Santa and Mrs. Claus for the children – came from Owensboro to hand out candy. As adoptive parents, they have a heart for children. Surrounded by toys and two days before Christmas, they saw happy, smiling children.

“They're excited,” Donna Mayhew said. “It kind of lifts their spirits. … They're still resilient. They keep going. It's just incredible to see how much fun they're having today. That's got to make them feel a lot better.”

Meredith Hyde, a Dawson Springs resident, was there with her five-year-old granddaughter, Alivia Fiveash, who happily grabbed a stuffed dog. Hyde said Alivia lives in Dawson Springs and goes to school there, but was out of town because of the storm.

“She doesn't understand that we don't have a house anymore,” Hyde said after encouraging the preschooler to pick out 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.

“Because it's for my new room,” she said. “Because Gigi's house is gone because it was destroyed in the storm.”

Alivia said her trampoline is gone, but she hopes to get a new one – hopefully pink – and a pink blanket with unicorns on it.

Photos on Gigi's phone showed Alivia's former room. Her old toys were hidden under the broken glass of the windows. “There's a lot to experience here,” was written on one of the walls.

Hyde said her family would be fine and they would rebuild their home.

There's more fun to be had.

Follow Tessa Duvall on Twitter: @TessaDuvall.

This article originally appeared in the Louisville Courier Journal: After tornado, Santa visits Kentucky children