THE REAL SANTA CLAUS

Taranaki Daily News, 18 December 1930, Page 6 (Supplement)

THE REAL SANTA CLAUS

A VERY HUMAN POSTMASTER When children affirm their belief in the reality of Santa Claus they are nearer to the truth than the tolerant adults who emile at their naive earnestness. For there is a Santa Claus as thousands of American children can testify. They have received letters bearing a Santa Claus postmark and they know that they came through the ordinary post because a smiling postman delivered them on Christmas, morning into their own hands. Even the older children, wise in the ways of parental trickery at Christmas, are \shaken in their scepticism. The explanation is that Santa Claus is the name of a village in America, the postmaster of which is a kindly soul with a soft spot for children. At Christmas he is one of the hardest worked men in America. Every year hundreds of American children post letters to Santa Claus, and many of-these childish missives find their way to the little village in Indiana. Instead of consigning them to the waste-paper basket, the postmaster sends out short stereotyped replies, to the delight of the fortunate children who receive them and to the considerable surprise of those parents who have never heard of the tiny village. The village did not always bear the name of Santa Claus. It' was originally kn'own as Santa Fe, with which name the few inhabitants were perfectly satisfied. As the population increased the reading residents decided to apply for the establishment of a post office in the Village. The first cbeervatipn of the. United States Post Office Department was that another village in Indiana also bore the name of Santa Fe and the regulations were that there could not be two post offices of the same name in any one state. i, A mass meeting of villagers was called to consider the ruling. A resolution that the village

should change its name was carried unanimously, but when it came to the choice of a new name there was considerable diversity of opinion. Just as it seemed that the meeting would have to dissolve without .having reached a decision, the village humorist rose and in a weary voice proposed that the new najme of the village should be Santa Claus. The humorist only wanted to raise a laugh, but the effect of the proposition was almost magical.. It was seconded immediately and carried without discussion. :: ... . As post office sorters began to be aware of the new name on the list they realised that they had at last found an appropriate destination for those frayed and dirty envelopes bearing the legend, "Santa Claus,” that •invariably found their way into the mails at Christmas. At first only a few letters reached the village, but as the ye'ars passed and its name and fame became more widely known, the letters increased in number until they now assume formidable proportions. Not only, do children write to Santa Claus, but parents also take advantage of the opportunity by ' writing a letter, signed “Santa Glaus" to their own child and forwarding it to the postmaster to be posted at the famous village, ‘so that the stamp will bear the Santa-Claus cancellation.

The postmaster is not out-of-pocket as the result of his kindness;. The parents of children who re- < eeive" replies from -“Santa Claus”.almost''invariably remit the postage and sometimes they' send the postmaster a present for himself, after they have discovered the origin of the letters. Parents who send letters for posting usually enclose a remittance large.,enough to cover the expenses and to leJive the postmaster a little for himself. Originally, however, the postmaster undertook .these duties without hope of reward and he still feels embarrassed when presents and fees arrive.