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Show Police Play Santa To Portland's Poor Folks furniture, stoves, mattresses and bedding. About 50 calls a day are received at the Sunshine division headquarters, headquar-ters, asking for help. Investigation greatly reduces the number served. Every policeman and police reserve in Portland is on the lookout for the needy and a complete record of every transaction is on file. "My rule for investigating charity char-ity cases," says Captain Tichenor, "is to use good old common sense. It's something most of us have if we only use it. We want to be a hepling hand sort of a provider until the down-and-outer gets a break." The Sunshine division also supplies sup-plies houses. Many generous Port-landers Port-landers have turned over vacant property to the organization which, in turn, moves destitute families into these places and supplies them with fuel, light, water and groceries. PORTLAND, Ore., Dec. 12. (NEA) Portland boasts the most unusual Santa Claus in the United States. He doesn't drive reindeer, wear whiskers or a red suit. He's on the job 12 months a year in his office at the police station. "Sunshine Division." His name is Captain Carxoll Holt Tichenor and for six years he has headed a charitable organization unlike any other in the United States. It's the Sunshine division of the Portland police department, which last year distributed Christmas Christ-mas dinners, clothing and toys to 1000 poor families and will care for a greater number this year. For 30 years Captain Tichenor has been a member of the police department. Six years ago, while in command of police precinct station sta-tion No. 2, he devised plans for the Sunshine division. It was an attempt at-tempt to avoid duplication of effort by various charitable agencies. So successful has the plan become that two large warehouses are required re-quired to store supplies; Captain Tichenor was relieved of active police po-lice duties in order to give full time to the division; 107 police reserves are enrolled as assistants. Everything Is Donated All of the food, clothing andi fuel distributed is donated. The only paid worker in the organization is Captain Tichenor who draws his salary as a member of the police department. An advisory board including in-cluding the mayor, chief of police, two business men, and the editors of Portland's three daily newspapers news-papers serve the division. A group of radio fun-makers known as tne "Hoot Owls" carry on a drive for funds each year before Christmas and raise thousands of dollars. Each Christmas basket this year will contain a 10-pound prime roast, three kinds of cereals, canned milk, corn, peas, pork and beans and tomatoes, to-matoes, packages of rice, spaghetti, macaroni, 10 pounds of potatoes, 10 pounds of pancake 'flour, bread, fruit cake, a half pound of butter, oranges, apples, candy and nuts. Christmas Eve the police reserves private citizens will loan cars to distribute the baskets. ua I;t'r The charitable work of the Sunshine Sun-shine division continues through the year. From March 31, 1930, to March 31, 1931, there were 1727 families who received food, rlOOO who received Christmas baskets, 760 given fuel, 1151 given clothing and 18 persons given wheel chairs. Eight tons of fuel and 75 cords of wood were distributed. Last fall 47 children who could not otherwise have gone to school were outfitted with clothing. The Sunshine division, according to Captain Tichenor, is the only organization orga-nization in the world that is prepared pre-pared to meet such an emergency without asking a single cent i'rom those benefited. The clothing rooms of the warehouses ware-houses look like a clothing store. Worn garments, donated, are repaired re-paired and made serviceable, along with the new. The food room has the appearance of a well stocked grocery. In the vegetable room in the basement all fresh fruits and vegetables are taken care of with many truck loads of condemned produce arriving daily. Other parts of the basement are given over to |