The Elves - Letters to Santa Claus

Letters to
Santa Claus

The ELVES Foreword by Pat Koch, Head Elf
Afterword by Emily Weisner Thompson This book is a publication of Indiana University Press
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Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA iupress.indiana.edu 2015 by Indiana University Press
All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.481992. Manufactured in China Cataloging information is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 978-0-253-01793-2 (cloth)
ISBN 978-0-253-01794-9 (ebook) 1 2 3 4 5 20 19 18 17 16 15 To all of Santas Elves:Without you,
there would be no magic. Photo courtesy Santa Claus Museum & Village. Santa Jim Yellig answered hundreds of thousands of letters to Santa Claus over the years. Santa Jim Yellig answered hundreds of thousands of letters to Santa Claus over the years.

He is pictured here at Santa Claus Land, surrounded by a stack of mail bursting with Christmas wishes.Photo courtesy Holiday World & Splashin Safari.

As Santas daughter, I have a special appreciation for Christmas. Growing up near the southern Indiana town of Santa Claus only deepened this feeling. In Santa Claus, Indiana, the spirit of Christmas is a gift we experience all year round. Our little town is home to a thriving community of about 2,300 residents who live on streets named Mistletoe and Rudolph, eat lunch at Frostys or St. Nicks, and shop for groceries at Holiday Foods. To the casual observer, we may simply appear as a quirky place that clearly enjoys the Christmas season.

But dig a little deeper, and youll realize there is more to Christmas in Santa Claus than festive names and candy-striped street crossings. This community takes pride in its traditions and holds a legacy that dates back over one hundred and fifty years. My fathers full name was Raymond Joseph Yellig, and he didnt just play Santa Claushe was Santa Claus. It was his calling, his passion, his mission. He was born in 1894 in the small town of Mariah Hill, Indiana, about four miles north of Santa Claus. He served in the Navy during World War I, and while stationed in Brooklyn, New York, he was asked to play Santa Claus at a party his ship hosted for underprivileged children in the neighborhood.

Being a boy from a town called Santa Claus, it seemed like a perfect fit. My father loved the experience and prayed to God that if he made it through the war, he would forever be Santa Claus. Head Elf Pat Koch has been helping Santa answer letters since she was twelve years old. Children sit at antique school desks in the Original Santa Claus Post Office and write their letters to Santa. Photo courtesy Spencer County Visitors Bureau. He did, indeed, survive the war and returned home to marry his childhood sweetheart, my mother, Isabelle.

My father took his vow seriously and spent his life as Santa Jim Yellig. He worked at Santa Claus Land (today known as Holiday World & Splashin Safari) for nearly forty years and listened to the Christmas wishes of over one million children. He appeared in radio programs, parades, print ads, and game shows. He was truly the face of Santa Claus, Indiana, for many, many years. Holly the Elf sorts the Christmas mail in the Original Santa Claus Post Office. Photo courtesy Santa Claus Museum & Village.

My father started helping the postmaster of Santa Claus, James Martin, in 1930. Every year, children from across the United States mailed their letters to Santa Claus, and those letters turned up in Santa Claus, Indiana. Postmaster Martin was trying to respond to every letter that arrived. He needed help, and my father was more than happy to give it. Hed bring boxes of letters home, and years after his death, I was still finding letters hed answered scattered throughout the house. He was one of the greatest men Ive ever known.

Happiness is what its all about, he once said. I make kids happy. Each year Santas Elves respond to thousands of letters from children all over the world. Here, Head Elf Pat Koch keeps an eye on the workshop. Head Elf Pat Koch helps Santa by responding to one of the thousands of letters mailed to Santa Claus, Indiana, every year. Shes wearing her best Christmas attire! Photos courtesy Spencer County Visitors Bureau.

Ive always tried to take this lesson to heart. My own involvement with the Santa letters began in 1944. I started helping my father answer letters when I was twelve years old. I remember my mother admonishing him to move the tablecloth out of the way before he upended bags of letters and started writingshe didnt want ink all over her furniture. I grew up, moved away, and thought my life had taken a completely different turn. But my father grew ill, and I returned to southern Indiana to help where I could.

Bill Koch, whose father had started Santa Claus Land, picked me up at the train station, and we were married in 1960. Together, he and I devoted our lives to Santa Claus Land and the town of Santa Claus, where we raised our five children. Ive lived most of my life in or near this Christmas town, where children from around the world still send their most heartfelt desires, and I know how truly special it is to live in a small town where the Christmas spirit surrounds you every day. I have always believed in the importance of preserving history. I founded the Santa Claus Museum in 2006 to preserve and interpret the history of Santa Claus, Indiana, and filled it with a collection of wonderful photographs, artifacts, and Santa Claus Land memorabilia that documents the history of our town. Eventually, our little museum outgrew its original location in Kringle Place and moved to a spot in the old town of Santa Claus, adjacent to the giant Santa Claus statue, which was built in 1935.

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