Written by Clay Riley – There was a time when Christmas shopping was done walking down sidewalks, looking in decorated windows at displays of goodies for Christmas. It was the local merchants that benefited, as well as the town’s citizens. With children in tow, mom and dad knew what the kids wanted for Christmas, by watching their noses pressed against the glass and their little fingers pointing out what they wanted Santa to bring. Some things did not improve with time. Christmas shopping is one.
Most would agree, without question, the two things that have remained constant, is the children’s vision of Santa Claus and their belief that they would be rewarded for their good behavior.
The most famous letter to Santa Claus was written in 1897, by a little girl by the name of Virginia O’Hanlon. The reply is no less inspirational today, than the day they were penned. The letter follows in entirety and is well worth the reading;
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Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus – An Important Message!
The New York Sun – 1897
We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:
Dear Editor
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
– Virginia O’Hanlon
Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
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And make their hearts glad he did. The following letters are from Brown County children, through the years. They were not famous, but they were no less remarkable and precious.
Brownwood, Texas Dec. 9, 1909
Dear Santa Claus:
Please bring me a big doll about two feet long, a rocking chair and a big box full of candy: a pencil and a box of crayons and a tablet and a trunk and a sweater. That is all I want this Christmas. I live on Brady Avenue, 1102.
Your little friend, Lula Barrington
Brownwood, Texas Dec 10, 1909
Dear Santa Claus:
Please bring me some little doll chairs, a little piano and stove and apples, bananas, nuts and candy.
Your friend, Bernice Emison
Brownwood, Texas Dec. 13, 1911
Dear Santa Claus:
Please bring me an air gun and a pair of leggings and some fireworks and anything for a little boy 10-years old.
Emil Bratton
Brownwood, Texas Dec. 13, 1911
Dear Santa Claus:
Please bring me a bicycle and some skyrockets, Roman candles; sparklers and popping matches and some money. I have been a good boy. Please don’t forget.
Yours truly, Coggin Denman
Brownwood, Texas Dec. 19, 1913
Dear Santa Claus:
Please bring me a bug that can walk and I have a little brother Ragan. I wish you would bring him a rocky horse that he can ride.
Please bring baby sister a nice little doll, you know girls always want a doll. I would like to have a swan and a duck that will swim. Little brother Reagan ought to have an unbreakable doll. Please come by Coggin Avenue Baptist Church. I want to send something to the little children at Buckner Orphans’ Home by you.
Your little friend – William D. McChristy, Jr.
Brownwood, Texas Dec. 21, 1920
Dear Santa Claus:
I am a little girl seven-years old and am in the first grade. Please bring me a baby doll, a tea set and a doll cart. Please remember my sisters, brother, mother and daddy. Please don’t forget poor people. With lots of love from Fern to you and Mrs. Claus.
Cora Fern Sizemore.
Bangs, Texas Dec. 21, 1920
Dear Santa Claus
I am a little girl six-years old and I try to be awful good. Will you please bring me a big doll, some dishes and a little dresser.
Your little friend – Mary Kathryn Ashcraft
Brownwood, Texas Dec 15, 1921
My Dear Old Santa,
Christmas will soon be here, so I will tell you what I want in plenty of time. I should like to have a pop gun, football, an electric train and a toy airplane. Oh yes! you can bring me some nuts, fruits and candy, as you will have some along anyway.
Your little friend – Donald Salter
Valley Mills, Texas Dec.10, 1926
My Dear Santa Claus,
I hope my letter isn’t too late for you, but I had to wait to see where Bishop Moore was going to send us before I could give you my new address. We like Valley Mills very much and I want you to bring me a big Buick dump truck, a car, a desk and lots of candies. Thank you, Santa.
Your little friend, Frank Turner, Jr.
Blanket, Texas Dec. 15, 1928
Dear Santa Claus,
I am a little boy seven-years old. I don’t want much this year. I just want a police suit with handcuffs, a gun, a big tricycle that I can adjust the seat, a fire chemical truck like the one at J.C. Penny’s store. Also, fireworks, fruits, nuts and candy. Be kind to all good little boys and girls. Your little friend,
Charles Stewart P.S. Santy, I will be at Blanket.
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Photos: Portal of Texas History.
This and many other stories are available at the Brownwood Public Library – Genealogy & Local History Branch at 213 S. Broadway. Volunteers from the Pecan Valley Genealogical Society are there to assist you in your family or local history research.
Clay Riley is a local historian and retired Aerospace Engineer that has been involved in the Historical and Genealogical Community of Brown County for over 20 years.
Should you have a comment, or a question that he may be able to answer in future columns, he can be reached at; pvgsbwd@gmail.com.
