Few donors to the Press Herald Toy Fund have been as faithful as the employees of the Barron Center, Portland’s city-run nursing home.

Their gift – $215 this year – also has special meaning at the toy fund because it’s an annual reminder of the legacy of Matthew Barron, who not only cared for the Portland’s elderly residents as head of the institution but also made a lasting difference in the lives of the children across the city, and beyond.

It was Barron’s idea to start the toy fund 71 years ago. He simply wanted to provide toys to 1,000 children in Portland who were facing a Christmas without gifts during a difficult winter in 1949, and ended up brightening the holidays for generations of Maine children.

Barron was Jesuit-educated, graduating from Cheverus High School in Portland and Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts. He went to work in the city’s welfare department in 1934 and two years later became assistant director, the job he held that winter of 1949.

He and his friend, Evening Express Editor Robert Bruce Beith, decided to ask newspaper readers for donations to buy toys. Beith made the appeals in a newspaper column written under the pen name Bruce Roberts, a name that became synonymous with the fund. Using the donations from newspaper readers, Barron bought and distributed the gifts.

Barron personally purchased and packaged the toys for years, sometimes working until midnight as the holiday approached to deliver toys to needy families.

Barron was promoted to welfare director in 1950. He also was named head of Portland’s City Hospital, which at the time was a gloomy complex known locally as “the poor farm.”

His wife, Evelyn, was a registered nurse and the Matron of Nurses at the hospital. Together, Matthew and Evelyn Barron had a vision of what the hospital could become and led its transformation into a modern nursing care institution for the elderly and handicapped. The Brighton Avenue facility was eventually renamed the “Matthew I. and Evelyn A. Barron Center.”

Barron retired in 1974. He later served on the City Council, including as mayor from 1976 to 1978.

And until he died in 1980, Barron remained the chairman of the toy fund and personally led the annual effort to brighten the holidays.

Beith, the fund’s co-founder, would years later credit Barron with understanding not only the need for the charity, but also the community’s desire to help.

“Matt Barron always said that the people of the area would never fail the fund drive,” Beith said.

The community is once again proving him right.

• THE PRESS HERALD TOY FUND in the Spirit of Bruce Roberts uses donations from readers to provide toys to thousands of Maine children who might otherwise not receive holiday gifts because of hardships faced by their parents. Now in its 71st year, the fund is accepting applications for toys from needy families in York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc, Androscoggin, Lincoln and Knox counties.

• DONATIONS to help buy the toys can be made at pressheraldtoyfund.org or by writing checks to the Portland Press Herald Toy Fund and mailing them to the fund at P.O. Box 7310, Portland, ME 04112.

• FOR MORE INFORMATION, call 791-6672 or go to: pressheraldtoyfund.org.

TODAY’S DONORS:

In memory of Jonathan Allen Waterman, from Sibyl Waterman Haley  $100
Anonymous  $50
Anonymous $100
Anonymous $100
Merry Christmas to Family and Friends! Dick and Evie Tonnesson  $500
In memory of Louise M. Wilkins, from Timothy Concannon  $100
Anonymous  $100
Bob and Nancy  $30
Anonymous  $250
In memory of Dan, Betty and Bruce Jenkins  $100
In memory of Caiombe  $1000
In memory of Rupie & Millie Richardson  $50
Michele McDonald  $50
Health & happiness to all, in loving memory of Gretchen Reiche Terhune and Kirsten Angela Terhune, from Tem Treehound  $100
From Joy Beach  $50
From Lily and Caleb Connavo  $50
From Belle and Emma  $50
Don and Lynn Johnson  $500
Anonymous  $50
Anonymous  $100
Merry Krimble! Tom Dyhrberg  $500
Anonymous  $50
Westbrook High School Class of 68 Coffee Club  $10
Happy Holidays! From a previous, grateful recipient  $500
Courtney and Donna Neff  $100
Let’s support one another. In loving memory of Christine Rosner  $50
In loving memory of Brendan, from Mom and Dad  $100
Anne Noyes  $100
Happiness & Health! From Madison, Nicholas, and Ryan Buckley  $300
Craig and Betsy Lane  $50
In memory of my parents, from Barbara Denker and Doug Dery  $100
Love and Light to all  $25
Let the spirit of Christmas inspire your soul to spread love and compassion to those around you! Mark & Susan Scheffer $100
Anonymous $30
Eloise Knowles  $20
Catherine Crute  $20
Anonymous  $50
We love you Quinn and Evan! The Moultons  $50
In memory of James and Rosemary Duffy, from Tim Duffy  $100
Margaret Cekuta  $100
Merry Christmas! Diane and Dennis Ford  $50
Bill and Usher  $100
Not much, but at least an unfortunate child will receive something under the tree  $20
Anonymous  $50
In honor of our grandchildren, Ellie, Sully and Maggie  $100
Merry Christmas to all the children! From Lucinda Nugent  $100
In memory of my grandfather John Russell, from Diane Farren  $100
Anonymous  $100
In memory of Robert H. Foster, from Carolyn M. Watson Foster  $100
Anonymous  $50
Happy Holidays! $50
Anonymous  $100
Anonymous  $50
Anonymous  $50
Anonymous  $50
Merry Christmas!  $50
Anonymous $30
Wishing everyone a safe and comforting holiday season  $50
In memory of my mom, Doris Croudis, who loved Christmas and always donated to the Bruce Roberts Fund, from Eileen Horton $50
Merry Christmas! Bud and Laura Ellis  $25
In memory of my mother, Dorothy W. Gross, from Judith Weisman  $50
In honor of Stan Allain, from Kathleen Murray-Allain  $350
WHS60 Classmate, in memory of Gordon.  $50
In the spirit of giving and receiving, from Deborah  $40
Merry Christmas! $150
Thank you for bringing light to children across Maine on Christmas $100
For all the grandchildren $150
Anonymous $30
Joyful and Safe Holidays! Paula and Bill Page  $100
Susan $40
The Watson Family  $1000
Merry Christmas! John & Pam Fridlington  $250
Merry Christmas! Holly Thibault  $30
Anonymous  $50
Anonymous $200

Year-to-date total: $117,336.25