Miscellany Mondays: Unexpected stories about Santa Claus
From mysterious mailboxes in Andover to false arrests in Pennsylvania, Santa gets the last Ho-Ho-Ho!
Santa Claus comes to Andover right on time, every year on Christmas Eve, but this is not Santa’s first visit to town each holiday season. Santa has been known to make special guest appearances at schools, civic clubs, and parties. For nearly a decade, Santa has made a special visit to the Andover Center for History and Culture to read his favorite story, ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas, to some of his biggest fans.
A few years ago….
In 1960, Andover Fire Chief Henry L. Hilton decided to step up the fire department’s role in the town’s Christmas festivities leading up to the annual Santa Parade.
In the weeks leading up to the parade and Santa’s arrival, local children had the opportunity to drop their letters to Santa in a special mailbox located at the fire station (then behind the Town House on Park Street). The mailbox was strictly for letters to the North Pole, but what made it most famous was that through the mailbox, children could talk with the big man himself. It’s true! Through a special intercom installed in the mailbox, children dropping off their letters could have a conversation with Santa Claus.
Many times he has amazed the youngsters with a personal conversation, coming directly from the mailbox. ‘Pull down the lid or I can’t see you,’ he’s fond of telling the tots. And when they do, Santa talks to them about what they’re wearing.
It’s a heart-warming story!
And then — so much for heart-warming stories — the next year, 1961, Santa was arrested for violating blue laws in Pennsylvania.
I wouldn’t have found this story from Buck’s County, Pennsylvania, if not for an editorial in the December 21, 1961 Andover Townsman.
There had to be more to this story! And, sure enough, there was.
From Penndel, Pennsylvania, word spread about the arrest of Santa Claus….from Kansas, to Tennessee, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Florida….the story was repeated.
Newspaper editors had a field day with their headlines:
Judge Hastens to Free Santa Claus After Arrest Under 1794 Blue Law (Appleton, WI)
Faces Red from Blue Law Arrest of Old Saint Nick (Parsons, KS)
Santa Claus Gets last ‘Ho, Ho, Ho!’ (Benton Harbor, MI)
Santa Is Again as Free as the North Wind (Greenville, TN)
Pennsylvania Scrooges: Old Blue Law Causes Santa Lots of Trouble (Rocky Mount, NC)
Santa hauled into court, freed (Garden City, KS)
Santa haled [sic] into court on ‘bum rap,’ says Judge (Roseburg, OR)
Judge apologizes to Santa Claus for his arrest (Kane, PA)
By the hair of his chinny, chin, chin – Santa Claus just misses jail (Bryan, TX)
Blue Sunday for kids – Santa Claus arrested (Leavittown, PA)
The article was reprinted everywhere
Penndel, PA – Santa Claus was haled [sic] into court, accused of breaking a law 167 years old, but almost before anyone could say, “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” he was free as the north wind again….
Santa in the genial person of Earl Steger, 58, was arrested Sunday as he was listening to the kids pour out their holiday wishes at Butch’s Discount Market.
Police Chief William Riemapp and Sgt. Norman Rigby told him he was playing hob1 with the blue laws, which forbid the sale of non-essentials on Sunday.
But to get Santa on that rap, since he was selling nothing, the authorities had to invoke the bluer code of 1794 rather than the revised version of 1959. Under the old, old law it is unlawful to be gainfully employed on Sunday.
Said Riemapp, “The old blue law has never been repealed, and I have the option of making an arrest under either or both of these laws.”
Four of St. Nick’s helpers were cited on the same charge. Their cases are pending.
Agitation for a crackdown on blue law violators has been coming from a Bucks County ethical business practices committee. A spokesman for this group commented ruefully, however, that arresting Santa was more than had been bargained for, “making us look like Scrooges.”
As Santa, arrayed in red suit and white whiskers, stood at the bar of justice, with his missus along side him, Squire (Judge) William Oettinger, 38, said, “This is very embarrassing…I’ve never had anything like this in my court before. Having Santa Claus arraigned, I mean. It is most upsetting.”
Santa just stood silent, smiling wide, now and then folding Mrs. Santa’s hand in his own.
His lawyer did the talking, “Your honor, my client shouldn’t be here. Plainly, he is without guilt or guile. What crime is he charged with? I’ll tell you – simply wanting to go good for children. Heinous, isn’t it?”
After listening to both prosecution and defense, the squire hastened to say, “It gives me great honor to discharge this defendant. This is the last place Santa Claus belongs. Gainful employment, indeed! Everybody knows Santa gives, that he doesn’t take.” He shook hands with Santa and wife.2
Now, before we laugh too hard at another state, it should be known that Pennsylvania repealed their blue laws in 1972. Massachusetts voters approved the repeal in 1977, but the law didn’t go into effect until 1983.3
I just hope Santa doesn’t run into any trouble this year!
Thanks for reading!
~Elaine
P.S. History Buzz will be taking a break from December 23 through January 9. We’re looking forward to connecting with you in 2022!
Resources:
Newspapers are an invaluable resource for finding information. You can read the Andover Townsman and Andover Advertiser on line on the Memorial Hall Library website.
We also frequently use Newspapers.com
“Playing hob” 1. play hob with, to do mischief or harm to. 2. raise hob, to behave disruptively. A “hob” was a goblin or elf in European mythology.
The Leavittown Times, December 11, 1961 from Newspapers.com https://www.newspapers.com/image/48853952
https://www.britannica.com/topic/blue-law
Blue law, in U.S. history, a law forbidding certain secular activities on Sunday. The name may derive from Samuel A. Peters’s General History of Connecticut (1781), which purported to list the stiff Sabbath regulations at New Haven, Connecticut; the work was printed on blue paper. A more probable derivation is based on an 18th-century usage of the word blue meaning “rigidly moral” in a disparaging sense.
Just for chuckles, check out this article on Massachusetts blue laws that are still on the books, as well as this one which lists a whole lot of other weird laws in Massachusetts.
Yet another heartwarming story - the pictures are absolutely priceless! Tom Adams