Seasonal & Holidays
Trolley Takes Shelter Clients For Holiday Ride
The owner of the Peekskill Trolley Company greeted her guests dressed as an elf before taking them on a 90-minute tour of holiday lights.
PEEKSKILL, NY — Residents and friends at the Jan Peek House got a special trolley ride to celebrate the season, courtesy of Leslie Masson of the Peekskill Trolley Company. At 8 p.m. sharp on Dec.18, Stella, the vintage trolley car, arrived at 200 N. Water Street to pick up about 25 people for a 90-minute tour of the holiday lights in Peekskill.
The elf who greeted the passengers was none other than the trolley company's founder, Leslie Masson.
Masson began the trolley tours in 2010 as a retirement venture. Every year, the trolley makes regular “Polar Express” wintertime runs. A culminating moment of the tour is a house on Nelson Street, which has a timed show that attracts scores of locals for the extravagant display melding music with images.
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Masson treats the Jan Peek House residents to the tour because she wants to spread happiness in a novel way, and she has been giving to the shelter for years. Two summers ago, while hosting Jan Peek residents at a BBQ in her backyard, residents saw Stella, heard about the winter rides, and wanted to get on board. That’s how the ride tradition, started in 2018, was born.
And this is a very special event to her. She recalls one woman from the shelter tearing up with remembrances after she boarded and began hearing carols and seeing sights.
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“Anything that brings a smile to people’s faces I like to do,” Masson said.
All the beautiful lights at Peekskill residences and businesses merited "Ooohs" and "Aaahhs." By the time Christmas carols were aired over the sound system, many of the passengers joined in.
Cynthia Knox, CEO of Caring for the Hungry and Homeless of Peekskill, is grateful for this unique and festive gift to Jan Peek residents. “I remember someone who got on the trolley last winter, face hanging down, looking sad. And then, the transformation! His eyes lit up, he had a big smile - it was wonderful.”
- Information about the Peekskill Trolley Company
- Information about Jan Peek House and Caring for the Hungry and Homeless
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