HAMLET – Jenna Stables was all set to celebrate her eighth birthday on Friday, December 15, but she probably never expected the gift that she ultimately received, nor could she have known that Santa Clause himself would have a hand (literally) in the process of making the delivery.
With the generous donation from Farmers’ Home Furniture in Rockingham of a giant stocking filled with games, toys, and other assorted gifts, the Hamlet Public Library sponsored the “World’s Biggest Stocking Give-Away” as a way to encourage youngsters to take advantage of the holidays and catch up on their reading.
With each set of five books checked out, an entry ticket with the child’s name was deposited into the raffle box.
As was noted in a previous article, Carmella Johnson and her staff at the Hamlet Public Library are proactive in their support and encouragement of children’s reading.
“Children’s checkouts are slow this time of year so we wanted an incentive to try to increase them,” said library assistant Belinda Norton.
Library assistant Heather Jones had noticed a similar type of promotion at the Farmers’ Home Furniture Store in Laurinburg, and Norton was friends with the manager of the Rockingham store, Lori Lynn.
So, the delivery of “The World’s Biggest Stocking” was completed and it was set up in the lobby of the Hamlet Library.
The drawing for the stocking and all of its contents was held at 12 p.m. on Friday, December 15, in the lobby of the Hamlet Public Library, and it was a substantial gift (or actually a multitude of such) that Stables was awarded when Santa pulled her name from the box.
The estimated value of the entire lot was $150 - $175, giving Stables a very special birthday to remember.
“Jenna smiled really big, saying that she was super excited because she never had won anything in a contest before,” said her dad, Drew Stables, when asked how his daughter felt about winning.
Jenna went on to say that she, “wanted everyone to have a Merry Christmas, and hope that everyone would have a chance to win something like I did.”
But it would seem that Stables’ Christmas spirit was not limited to just words and phrases; she was quick to share several of the items with her younger brother, Cuyler.
While it was actually just Stables alone who had won the drawing, when she told her little brother the good news, he mistakenly inferred that he, too, was a “winner,” and was thus anxious to see what it was that he was entitled to.
Not wanting to disappoint him, Stables never told him anything to the contrary, leaving that task to parental deference.
Stables nevertheless provided her brother with the items that she knew he favored, and packaged still other gifts for her friends.
Because of the generosity of Lynn at Farmers’ Home Furniture Company, the extra special efforts of the staff at the Hamlet Public Library, the “magic” of Santa Clause, and particularly the totally unselfish demeanor demonstrated by Stables herself, a fun and happy recognition of two birthdays – Stables’ eighth and Jesus’ 2017th - was enjoyed by many.
