Church brings Christmas fun, family together with train ride

By Melissa McCaghren

Slatonite GM

Guests of all ages boarded a special train lit with a variety of Christmas lights Friday evening (Dec. 13) at First United Methodist Church.

This Christmas Train took them on an approximately 10-15 minute ride to see the sights and sounds of the holiday in Slaton.

The rides were conducted last week and will continue this Friday and Saturday (Dec. 20-21) from 6-9 p.m. each night, traffic pending. Cost is free, but they will be accepting donations to cover the costs of the train upkeep. Coffee and hot chocolate will be served.

Mike Hoover, a member of FUMC and the owner of the train, has bought things in the past, repaired them and resold them. The idea spurred from repairing a riding lawn mower he bought from a farmer.

“(I thought), my grandkids would sure like a train, so I built a train out of that first one, and this is the third one I’ve built,” he said.

Then he wanted to share it with others besides his grandkids.

For more information, please read the Thursday edition of The Slatonite.