A prized family artifact from 100 years ago shows that some Christmas traditions haven’t changed much.
Melynda Jarratt, curator of the New Brunswick Military History Museum in Oromocto, told Information Morning Fredericton about a letter to Santa that was written by her aunt Anna years ago.
She said the letter was found tucked away in a drawer of a hutch in her grandmother’s apartment at the Doucet Hennessy House in Bathurst after she passed away.
After it came into Jarratt’s possession, she said she immediately knew how important it was to her, even in the condition it was in.
“Now it was all crumpled up and dog-eared and you could see every wrinkle. In fact, sometimes it’s hard to read the writing because it’s so wrinkly,” she said.
“But I flattened it out and there it was.”
Reading and writing were important in her family, so Jarratt guesses the letter was written at a young age about a hundred years ago, she assumes around 1924 or ’25.
It was written by her aunt, who was born in 1919, and includes a reference to her mother Lucy, who was born in 1917.
“Dear Santa Claus, will you bring me a box of biscuits for Christmas and a pair of skates for me and Lulu?” the letter begins.
Jarratt said the letter was discovered crumpled up in a drawer in her grandmother’s home in Bathurst and eventually found its way into her possession. (Submitted by Melynda Jarratt )
“I want two boxes of chocolates and a coat and a cap and scarves and a pair of shoes and rubbers and stockings, a table and four chairs and a red doll’s bed and a pair of night slippers.”
But the letter doesn’t stop.
“Two sets of irons, a pair of knitting needles and a set of fancy dishes. A cupboard. Two storybooks, a box of powder, a clock, a purse for me and Lulu, two rings and two bracelets. A necklace. A sweater. A kettle. A wood box full of wood. A sink, a vase, a carriage. From Anna Hennessy.
Reading the letter, Jarratt said she can easily picture the scene in Bathurst.
“I was transported back to the past of those cold winter mornings of December. I could just envision them sitting around the big pot-bellied stove in the kitchen and probably just had their breakfast and everything’s cleared up for the day.
“And it’s maybe a Saturday morning and it’s cold outside. Maybe the snow is falling and this is the day that they’re going to write the letter to Santa Claus. I was just transported,” Jarratt said.
The best part was that the letter was discovered while her mother and aunt were still alive. Jarratt said they both enjoyed seeing it again.
Jarratt’s mother and aunt grew up in what is now called the Doucet Hennessy House, a historical homestead in Bathurst. (Maison Doucet Hennessy House Bathurst)
“And one thing my mother did say, though, was that, you know, let’s face it, they probably only got one or two of the things, so you may as well ask for a lot.”
The items on the list reflect the practicality of life on a farm homestead in northern New Brunswick at the time, Jarratt said.
“I mean, you had to survive. You couldn’t be wasteful. You couldn’t be thinking of things, you know, like modern children today are thinking of — technology, maybe trips to Disneyland — and she knew that you needed wood for the stove.”
Her aunt and mother grew up together and ended up being neighbours for most of their lives, she said.
“So this little letter to Santa is like a window on their future in a way, because it just goes to show how much they shared together even as children.”