Monday, December 23, 2013

More Letters From Santa

 This is the last of the Christmas letters I have - I think!



There is no year on this letter, however I suppose we could have the brown paper sack carbon dated.
The creases are permanently embedded, so just in case you can't read the letter, this is what is says: 
Dere Childrun,
It isnt that there aint no Santy Claus, Its just that some times people think there aint - maybe becoz of what seems to be afare reason - I thot thats what u thot.  Then you hang up your stockings.!  That restores my faith in people but leaves me slightly unprepared this year.  Pleze try again next year.  But if that long legged grasshopper thinks I goofed last year, what has he to sa for himself!
Lots of love to everybody.  Be good for another year one day at a time -
Santy Claus
N.P.

Another letter - again no date.  This one is written on a wide brown paper sack and so it doesn't fit on my scanner.
"Help!  Help!  I'm snowed under - all this mail!  I'll just have to write one the bunch of you.  Dang it, when you wrote me as you did I just had to kick thru with a little - nothing you want, of course, but a token.  Liz, I hear you had your chance.  That relieves me.  I'd like to add some more p.s.'s but I gotta go.  And when yu gotta -
Santy Claus


This must have been a year for personal replies to our letters.  The responsibility of who wrote to whom must have been shared this year. 

Among Mother's treasures I found the letter below tucked away in her handkerchief box when it came my way.  Amazing how Santa shared our letters.  Where was our "right to privacy"?    I have no idea how old I was - again no date.

The following letter was written when it was just Judy, Steve and me at home.

And the following letter was written probably my last year at home before I graduated from high school. That was the year Dad and Mother gave me my jewelry box.  Steve and I decided to forgo the annual Christmas stocking routine and were gently chastised for our decision.
Fun memories from a long ago time.  Can you smell the peanut brittle?  Or the carrot pudding?  Or remember how it always seemed so magical to go on the last outdoor trek before climbing into bed?  Remember how the clear late night sky would be full of twinkling stars and how we would try to guess which one was the brightest.  And then, in the house there was the newly decorated Christmas tree with twinkling lights and several homemade ornaments, along with the tinsel that had been rescued from the year before - and that felt a little like magic, all by itself.  However, none of this would have meant anything without the little white house that was full of love and family. Christmas memories are a great source of warmth, even on very cold and snowy days.  I love you all.  Merry Christmas!

3 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Judy heard from, and now Ann. No, I'm not digging back through my letters - I may have one or two??? Think Mother was Santa Claus in the last one? Dad was definitely wrote the other letters. I remember once at Ralston when Dwight took the letter from Santa and tried to decide if he could write like that if he used his left hand - results inconclusive.

Dwight said...

I am so amazed. I had no idea anyone had any of these priceless gems. They are all written with a tinge of sadness about the scantiness of Santa's sack, but I don't think any of us ever thought much about it. Christmas was all in the magic. Thank you all for finding and posting these.

Ann said...

My question is who was the long legged grasshopper?
Steve's computer died so it will take him awhile to catch up with us.