Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1908-12-31
TONY pAs7oR AS SANTA.
Veteran Actor Was ths Frisns q tn.
 Staoe Chldrsn.

1.
 There are at present cngagedsin diff ferent capacities on the stage aniAin the theaters about 400 children to t whom the holidays usually are days | of toll, and many of these little folks l are breadwinners for younger broth CTS and sisters 1t was for them that the late Tony Pastor and his wife. Mrs. E. l.. Fernandez, and Aunt Louisa Eldridge, now dead, inaugu rated the Christmas festival which has become q perennial affair.
 1 The little ones. all less than twelve years old. provide the stage entertain l ment on these occasions, and there
 never is any interference by the au thorities. Christmas, 1907, was Tony
 Pastors last appearance as the chil
 drens Santa Claus, and this year they
 will miss his genial face and kindly at
 tentions. Last year he was master of
 ceremonies and introduced his tiny
 top liners.'' At the end of the act he
 presented to each of the girls q beau
 tifully dressed doll and to the boys
 boxes of candy or appropriate toys
 Admission was by invitation only.
 and when the programme began the . house was crowded to the doors, the
 balcony being given up largely to
 poor children of the east side. Some . of the actors were mere babies. but
 they went through the business like
 veterans. and the gravity of most of
 them when singing their comic songs . was immensely amusing.
 e One of the players was presented az s Baby Esmond, perfect cherub, who e p!ped a love ditty and danced with !. one foot held in the air. Mir. Pastor n. said she was of this years crop" ant # when she had ended the performance e he asked her to tell the audience hel n age. Without shrinking from the ques e. tion, as her fellow actresses do sh, n: lisped, ''lll be four next January" < ,n Another of the same mature year s, was Miss Miriam Jackson" if 70,
 please Sine came out with q Tedd,
 heal in her arms. sang a song and diI ,a such clever capering that every VIC "a .nnn in the audience wanted to! hui
 her
 Sr iii Il doll baby. sang Poor John" and in o.. vited the audience to join her in til V, chorus. which it did with q will. A
 the cnn of the programme MT. Fasto
 an.Wnm'e that Il banquet was await
 ing ',r children in the basement c Y Tam,nany hall
 " After the little ones had been satis .u fed in thai respect they were sent u Ut to the main hall of the building. an pe there the really big feature of tn III stood three Christnas trees bendin O over from the weight of pretty thing
 while the stage itself was heaped wit en toys.
 as- After that there was a second d for tribution for stage children only in tl ore committee room Of Tammany hal full Most of the children had written r ell quests for certain articles. alll as the nd appeared one by one and giye d nan ld corresponding with that on Mrs Fe
 nandez's list the present asked for w.
 delivered. Some of these were ov. costly quality, having been purchase eat with money donated to the ca,s an Mrs. Fernandez said the children ,at the stage nowadays ask for uscf, ths things rather than for plaything ad Since these events were inaugurate lily 1t Is estimated that more than $3O,O( )n. has been spent for gifts.--New Tor f,l Herald