Love drives mall train operator
Trending
For 34 years, Carol Patterson has ridden the rails bringing smiles to countless children.
An insurance manager by day, Patterson, 78, of Altoona, dedicates her nights and weekends each holiday season to making sure the kid's train at the Logan Valley Mall runs smoothly.
"I could have a bad day here, and I go there and that first train-load of those smiling faces takes it all away," Patterson said of her longtime part-time job driving the train.
"I love the kids," she said. "I've watched a lot of them grow up. You realize, it's second and third generations by now."
Patterson started operating the train in 1982, the first year it was at the mall. The train's owner, Frank Marucci of Marucci Brothers Inc. in Wilmerding, near Monroeville, called Patterson "a sweetheart" and said her loyalty through the years couldn't shine any brighter than when the mall burned in December 1994, destroying much of the train display.
"She called me and said, 'Frank, there's scavengers here,'" Marucci said. "She sat there in the cold until we could get up there with our van to salvage it."
The train used at the mall is handmade by the company in Wilmerding, and Marucci said the fire destroyed most of it except some main parts of the engine and drivetrain.
"She's not employee of the month," said Marucci. "She's employee of the century."
Patterson laughed when she recalled guarding the nearly destroyed train after it was taken from the mall. It had been set up near the epicenter of the fire by J.C. Penney. After the fire, it was left outside in the parking lot. The only thing left was the engine, the railroad crossing sign and the control box.
"All the cars were mangled and melted," she said. "People thought they could just come and take things. I went out and stood by the train and waited for (Frank) to come out."
Joy Weidel, director of marketing for the Logan Valley Mall, said Patterson is a sweet lady who runs the train like it's her own business, managing the day-to-day operations, selling the tickets and driving the engine. This year, the train's theme is a "Santa Express" to the North Pole, Weidel said, and it's been worked into the new holiday set.
"It's a brand new experience," said Weidel of the holiday display, adding that each season, about 10,000 tickets are sold for the train ride.
Patterson, who is a bond manager and a claims manager with the Warren A. Gingrich Agency in Altoona, said while she likes the extra money from her part-time job, it's the kids that keep her coming back each season (the train returns each spring for the Easter holiday, too).
Apart from the train and her full-time job, Patterson also manages to baby-sit. In 1984, she started baby-sitting a 3-year-old girl and a 6-month old baby boy, and now she baby-sits that girl's own children.
"I do love kids," she said, admitting that with everything she's involved in, she has a very busy life.
"I run," she said, laughing. "I keep running so nothing catches up with me."
Mirror Staff Writer Greg Bock is at 946-7458.