Santa Claus is used to working on the fly. This Christmas, he took a little detour on his way back to the North Pole when he heard the boys and girls of Bremen, Kentucky, a town ravaged by a tornado two weeks earlier, needed to know Santa still loves them. And so Art 'Santa Art' Hoffman loaded up his Prius sleigh with toys and trinkets, donned the bright red overalls he reserves for warm days and made the two-hour trek from Louisville to the tiny town in Muhlenberg County. There wasn't a plan — other than spreading some much-needed cheer. Vivian Hardesty visits Art Hoffman, a retired public health official, who played Santa Claus at Nickolas’ Corner in Bremen on Christmas Day. The town is limited to about 200 people but had about 12 fatalities on the night of the tornado. Dec. 25, 2021 A professional St. Nick for more than four decades, Hoffman parked at Nickolas' Corner, a store and gas station on Bremen's Main Street. Some folks pulled over when they spotted Santa, and others Hoffman implored to come back with their kids. Harley Winn, 6, and Joshua Winn, 9, were surprised to see Santa in their town. They'd just been tracking his movements on the news channel the night before. "What did you expect?" he asked them. "That I was going to come down your chimney?" Tap the link in bio to read the full story by Tessa Duvall. Photo by Scott Utterback, Louisville Courier Journal.