From the Dean of Sheriffs to Mr. Clay County, J.P Hall Christmas party keeps on giving
Four decades and counting.
Hundreds of thousands of toys, clothes, donations and scholarships have been provided. Children and families have grown as new ones have arrived. And each year the smiles and joy are an uplifting sight, no matter how difficult the times may be.
We're talking about the now 41st annual J.P. Hall Children's Christmas Party. This year's giveaway is Saturday, Dec. 17, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Clay County Fairgrounds in Green Cove Springs. It again will be a drive-thru distribution as a COVID-19 precaution.
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"For many, this will be the only Christmas for their family," said Virginia Hall, who runs the event with family and other volunteers. "... We are so thankful for all of the incredible support we have received from the Clay County community for the last 41 years."
Her father, J.P. Hall Jr., established the J.P. Hall Children's Charities in the late 1970s and the first Christmas party 11 years later as a tribute to his father who was known for helping underprivileged children. John P. Hall Sr. also was Clay County sheriff for 37 years beginning in 1928. Known as the "Dean of Sheriffs," he served longer than any other in Florida history.
Mr. Clay County: County Road 209 South named after J.P. Hall Jr.
The younger Hall, sometimes called "Mr. Clay County," also was a deputy and successful rancher and businessman as president of the Bank of Green Cove Springs and J.P. Hall and Sons, a family-owned land and timber company. He passed away in 2000 at 70.
"I worked with my dad every year on the Christmas party," Virginia Hall, a former Green Cove Springs councilwoman and mayor, told the Times-Union's Anne Hammock in a 2013 story. "It was something we always enjoyed doing together."
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At Hall Jr.'s funeral, daughter Virginia Steinmetz said he set an example of giving that everyone in the community could emulate.
"He always talked to us about our responsibility to the community," she said in Beth Reese Cravey's story for the TU. "Dad would tell us that life had been good to us and we had to give back."
J.P. Hall charity: Clay Christmas party puts smiles on faces of thousands of kids
In another Times-Union story by Dana Treen about his passing, Jerry Williams, the mayor of Green Cove Springs at the time, talked about how visible Hall Jr. was in the community.
"He always seemed to know when people needed something and was always there," Williams said. "He had this gift of remembering everybody. He never grew beyond the people he grew up with."
Photos: 39th annual J.P. Hall Christmas Party in Clay County
Then there were and are the children, like 6-year-old Lashika Bellamy and 8-year-old Kari Donovan in a 1998 Times-Union story.
"Lashika went through her bag pulling out toys and proudly showing everyone what Santa had sent to her," Patti Levine-Brown wrote.
"Look, I got so many toys," the excited tot said. "They gave all this to me with my favorite toys in it."
Kari added, "I know Christmas is mainly about getting together with family and baby Jesus, but all of this just made it happier for me."
For more information or to donate, visit jphallcharities.com or like them on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: J.P. Hall Children's Christmas Party keeps giving to Clay County needy
