Train displays raise funds for furry friends
Ace Hardware employee and his family create elaborate layouts
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TYRONE -- An employee of Ace Hardware along Logan Avenue is raising funds and supplies for the Central Pennsylvania Humane Society after adopting a bulldog there years ago.
People who donate pet items or money for the humane society at either Ace Hardware or Neely's Train Shop along Pleasant Valley Boulevard in Altoona before Friday will be entered into a drawing and could win train sets, hardware supplies and various gift cards donated by local businesses as prizes.
Ace Hardware employee Chase Burke has built train displays at his workplace for the past five years.
"It all started to help small businesses. That was the whole reason behind it," he said. "It just grew into helping the community out."
Since the train displays were enjoyed by many, Burke said he received permission from his manager the following year to use the trains as a way to further help the community by taking donations for the humane society.
"Ever since then, we decided to help the humane society out because around this time of the year, they need the help," he said.
He said the train sets on display until Jan. 14 at Ace Hardware and Neely's are a family effort. A third train set is on display at InspectionGo along Penna Avenue, but InspectionGo is not a drop-off location for donations, Burke said.
After Burke designs the layouts for the tracks, his father, Chris, builds the mountains the train travels through out of styrofoam while Vickie, his mother, uses a drywall compound to create a snowfall effect.
"The only things store-bought on there are the houses, the train and the track," he said. "Everything else is handmade."
He said the tracks have different themes each year. This year, a Thomas the Tank Engine-themed track is at Ace Hardware while a country Christmas-themed track is on display at Neely's.
Burke said they delivered more than two truckloads of donations to the humane society last year. So far this year they've raised several items and almost $300 in cash, he said.
For the second year, Neely's Train Shop is a drop-off location for donations.
Owner Richard Neely said some of the items people have donated so far include cat litter, pet toys, boxed dog treats and canned food items. But he said people can also donate collars, leashes, paper towels and hand sanitizer at the shop.
"We do what we can for our furry friends," Neely said.
The drawing for the prizes will begin at 7 p.m. Dec. 22 at Ace Hardware in Tyrone. Burke said people don't need to be present to win prizes.
Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.