holiday ift'duide'bTHMonday.Decemberl T, 1 9893
Parson of the hills Keyes, 71, in declining health
HICKORY For most" of his 71
years, the Rev Charles Keyes has
packed wagons, then cars and trucks, to
bring Christmas to thousands of fami
lies in forgotten shacks deep in the
Appalachian mountains.
Now declining health keeps Keyes
inside most days.
"They say they miss me," Keyes told
The Charlotte Observer Tuesday at his
home in Hickory. "They want to see
me, whether I take them stuff or not. I
say, Tray for me,' for I'll be back."
Then, raising his voice, he declares:
"I shall return!" Keyes will return to the
mountains this weekend, rolled in on a
wheelchair for an annual Christmas
party. This year it'll be in Kentucky,
near Pineville. They'll have gospel
singing and packages of food for all.
Keyes says he'll tell children the story
of Christmas.
Dozens of volunteers worked Mon
day and Tuesday nights packing candy
and oranges into 5,000 plastic bags that
say: "From: Parson of the Hills. Jesus
Made it Possible." Above the words is
a picture of a healthier Keyes with a
well-groomed beard.
Keyes is known as "the Parson" or as
Santa Claus, a visitor who carries loads
of clothing and food over the moun
tains of West Virginia, Kentucky,
Tennessee and the Carolinas.
Keyes began his ministry at age 7 by
pulling a red wagon near his home in
West Jefferson. His work has grown to
a year-round operation, including a
Christian summer camp in Hickory for
200 underprivileged children.
Keyes collects canned goods, fruit,
shoes, overcoats, bicycles anything
he can donate to needy families.
This Christmas season, his volun
teers set up tractor trailers in Charlotte
and Greenville, S.C., to collect goods
they'll carry north.
"I think the majority of people don't
realize the poverty that's existing,"
Keyes said. "They think it's all right.
"Some kids don't have no Christ
mas. Without me, they'd have no Christ
mas at all."
It was a lonely task at first.
As a child, Keyes carried snuff,
tobacco and clothing to the mountain
people of North Carolina, trudging
through waist-deep snow, slipping on
ice.
As a teenager, Keyes would pull his
wagons by horse or mule. He carried
candy and a Bible; the people he met
nicknamed him Parson of the Hills.
Keyes said his parents and siblings
never approved of his work.
For three years, he attended divinity
school at Duke University to become a
Methodist minister, but dropped out to
return to the mountains.
As the years went on, Keyes traveled
by van or truck. He greeted people in a
black suit and tie, and gave sermons in
pastures and school buildings.
People fed him soup and offered
shelter. They publicized his visits by
word of mouth and each year expected
his return.
His efforts first slowed three years
ago, when Keyes suffered a series of
strokes. Then, in 1987, he slipped on
ice and broke his right hip.
Each year, his health gets worse.
Now, Keyes' 37-year-old son David
is doing most of the work.
The Daily Tar Heel
Business and advertising: Kevin Schwartz, director; Bob Bates, advertising director; Leslie Humphrey, classified ad manager.
Business stafT:Sabrina Goodson, manager; Allison Ashworth, assistant manager; Dana Cooper and Kimberly Moretz, receptionists;
Monica Paris, news clerk; Laura Richards, typist.
Classified advertising: Kirsten Burkart, assistant manager; Janet Gordon and Angela Spivey, assistants.
Display advertising: Amanda Tilley, advertising manager; Lora Gay, Kristi Greeson, Beth Harding, Lavonne Leinster, Tracy Proctor,
Kevin Reperowitz, Alicia Satterwhite, Pam Thompson and Jill Whitley, account representatives; Kim Blass, creative director;
Pam Strickland, marketing director; Sherrie Davis, Carole Hedgepeth, Ingrid Jones and Tracy King, sales assistants.
Production : Bill Leslie, manager; Anita Bentley, assistant manager; Chad Campbell, Erika Campbell, Stephanie Locklear, John Nipp,
assistant.
Phone: Display advertising: 962-1163; Classified advertising: 962-0252
Distribution: RDS Carriers.
Printing: The Village Companies.
s
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