WITN-TV letters to Santa Claus

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: 6092

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

775 letters written to Santa Claus by children living in eastern North Carolina in 1964. The letters were sent to NBC affiliate WITN-TV (Channel 7) in Wilmington, NC, which had promised to forward the letters on to Santa. Many were addressed specifically to Witney the Hobo, a clown who appeared on WITN's afternoon children's program, "The Funny Page". Most of the letters are unopened.

Dates

Creation: 1964

Conditions Governing Access

Advance notice required for access.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Historical note

The letters were written during the United States' early involvement in the Vietnam conflict; in November of 1964 President Lyndon Johnson approved the escalation of bombing in North Vietnam. North Carolina was home to numerous military bases, and this was a time of great uncertainty for many military families living the area.

According to the United States Postal Service, the tradition of letters to Santa began more than 100 years ago, and even today more than 1 million letters annually are sent to Santa Claus at the North Pole. In 1912, Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock authorized local postmasters to let employees and local citizens respond to the letters. (See https://about.usps.com/corporate-social-responsibility/letters-to-santa.htm#p=1)