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Frank King (1938-2008): Giveaway a go, but
without National City's Santa
Man who started event passes away
A; omments (1)
By Blanca Gonzalez
2 a.m., Dec. 25, 2008
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Frank King loved Christmas.
He loved seeing the hundreds of
children who lined up outside his
home every Christmas morning,
waiting for the gift giveaway he
started more than 30 years ago.
Children will Iine up outside the
humble National City house today,
and hundreds of presents will be
handed out, just as they have been
for so many Christmases.
But it will happen without Frank
King.
Mr. King died of lung cancer
Tuesday at his home. He was 7o.
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Mr. King, a retired truck driver with an affinity for motorcycles, became
known as a Santa figure in National City after he and his wife, Charlene,
started the gift giveaway.
The holiday event began simply enough when Mr. King noticed a neighbor
who was a single mother facing hard times. She had no Christmas tree and
no heat, so he decided to deliver presents to her children.
"I figured if there was one like that in the neighborhood, there were a
whole mess more," Mr. King said in a 1992 interview with The San Diego
Union -Tribune.
Although the Kings described themselves as "poor people," they were rich
in Christmas spirit. They started collecting contributions and old bicycles
that they would rebuild and paint throughout the year so they could hand
them out at Christmas.
The giveaway was never advertised, but word spread over the years. The
Kings went from handing out gifts to children in their neighborhood to
giving presents to families who showed up from throughout South Bay,
San Diego and Tijuana.
In 1996, then -Mayor George Waters proclaimed Christmas "Frank King
Day" in National City.
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