‘MIRACLE ON 31st STREET’: Little ones get big holiday treat
Published: December 30, 2004
More than 3,000 children, many of them toddlers, got an armful of Christmas toys, a free hot dog and a little love from a not-so-secret Santa yesterday.
For retired sheetmetal worker Ramon Gonzales, who started this Christmas party known as “Miracle on 31st Street” 34 years ago, the only downside is that he won’t be able to do it for another 34 years.
He estimates that through the years, 100,000 toys have been given to local youngsters.
“It’s a very beautiful feeling to see those kids smile and get those toys,” he said. “It’s a blessing.”
Gonzales said to give his age would “spoil the fun” of the event, which he started as a neighborhood event, buying gifts with his own money so all the kids in his neighborhood would get something for Christmas.
Five years later, he said, it grew into an event supported by community groups happy to help children have a happy Christmas.
“There’s no big money” in this event, Gonzales said.
The toys, fruit, nuts, soda, hot dogs and chips are donated.
Silver Saddle Steak House set up a grill at this year’s party site, the Tucson Rodeo Grounds on Irvington Road, and heated hundreds of hot dogs that were then laid out on banquet tables so the kids could help themselves.
The children with parents, grandparents and other kin waited patiently in the line leading to Santa, his elf, and other volunteers who handed out the toys on a wooden stage.
Santa’s elf was Danny Wash, a retired WWF wrestler who worked under the names “Dirty Danny” and “Lord Little Brook.”
Wash, a dwarf, is a lifelong South Sider, he said, except for the 12 years he was on tour.
He said Gonzales asked him to help out three years ago, and he loves doing something nice like this for his community.
He said he is among those who “moaned and groaned” to encourage Gonzales to shift the party back to the South Side, after three years in Marana.
Gonzales said yesterday he moved the party to the Northwest Side after it got “too big” here, and he wanted to help children in Marana. But many people urged him to bring the party back to Tucson, so he did.
This year, the Suavecito Car Club helped out with the event, as did the Pascua Yaqui Indian Police Explorers, 20 youths interested in law enforcement careers.
They helped unload boxes and bags of toys from metal storage containers that were trucked to the rodeo grounds.
Anita Korhonen, a member of Arizona Rangers, a volunteer law enforcement and community service group, helped with crowd control.
The armed rangers were dressed in black, from cowboy hat to boots.
Korhonen said the Christmas party is the group’s major event of the year.
The party also got help from Toys for Tots, the city of Tucson and the Sunriders motorcycle club, along with the business people who volunteer their time to coordinate toy donations and collections.
As winds whipped around the rodeo grounds stirring up dust, dozens of children left the party arms filled to overflowing with plastic cars and trucks; Barbie dolls; shiny, pastel “jewelry” and games.
And some of them, after packing their goodies into the family car, headed back to the toy line to do it again.
No one was turned away.
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