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They started lining up along Pine Avenue in the morning. By 1 p.m., when the doors to Antioch Church’s Christmas giveaway opened, the line wrapped all the way to The Promenade.
The distribution of toys, toiletries, furniture and other goods was scheduled to last until 4 p.m., Chaney said, but due to the high demand—especially for household goods—he drove to Big Lots to fill another truck to replenish—twice.
In the end, hundreds of families waited hours on the hot December afternoon for a chance to get free Christmas presents for relatives or necessities for their own home.