Thursday, December 05, 2024

Letter to Santa


A True Christmas Story featuring my late sister Frances.

In the early 1950s when I was in the 6th th or 7thth grade and my sister Frances was a teenager in high school.

During Christmas season the local newspaper, THE MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL published letters

To Santa every day.

Frances, a witty person, but quiet, and shy told her close friends she was going to write Santa in care of THE MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL’S LETTERS TO SANTA PAGE this:

 

Dear Santa,

I don’t want much for myself, but would you please send my parents a son-in-law?

From,

Frances Hunter

It appeared in THE MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL.  She had nothing to do with  it.  THE MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL put it on a news network and in went nation-wide.  Frances started receiving proposals, care of the Marietta Journal daily.  She received a sack full.

Frances was horrified.

THE MARIETTA JOURNAL photographer and reporter visited our home on Manget Street.   I was jumping around saying “Frances is more popular than Margaret Truman!”  (Margaret Truman, daughter of then-President Harry Truman, was getting a lot of press over her piano playing.

In the interview my parents told the reporter to put an end to it, it was only a joke that someone went too  far with it.

Whoever sent that letter never admitted it.  I think it was either Barbara S.  or one of the Hobby brothers.



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