The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1934-12-22
SANTA CLAUS REPORTS BUSINESS BOOM
THANKS TO STAMP COLLECTORS AID
q. NEA Service

Santa Claus must be al things
10 all people. ha
Jolly saint who brings them Sc
cretIy everything their little hearts
desire. To mother, Santa Claus Is
lust a big dinner to be prepared
for the whole family. To pa, some
times. Santa Claus is pain IN
the neck. To 1900 HooSiers. Santa
Claus i home.
But 10 the growing number OF
Owed in ;he WOO p1,.ateIlS,>
STAMP collectors to yoGl. Santa
Claus is an Item.
You've heard OF Santa Claus
Ind. the little crossroads hamie.
that rises each year 20 reak or
temporary fame and rushing pos
+al business al the holiday season
and then Slumps off for the re-
mainder of a humdruW year.
But did you know that II 1t
weren', for stamp collectors. per-
hans there wouldn't be any Santa
Claus?
NAME CHANGE HAPPY IDEA
Santa Claus. situated deep IN
rural southern Indiana. was found
ed long before the Civil war IN
dor the name of Santa Fe. In
1858, the residents began TO think
i would be nice TO have mail de-
livery, and they applied for eStao-
ljshment of a post office
The application was rejected
however. because there ALREADY
was another office named Santa
Fe in northern Indiana. This re-
lection was received only a ie"
weeks before Christmas.
They had 70 think faSt-ChriN'-
mas Santa Claus. Santa ESQ
they dropped the Fee, substituted
Claus. and submitted new applI-
cation under the name OF Santa
claus Zone world. Il was accept
ed. -.
Go for 6S years the town went
inconspicuOusly along as santa
claus. In 1926 an enterprIslng Los
Angeles stamp collector changed
all that. He got an idea.
STAMP FAN STARTS 1T
He wrote 70 Postmaster james
T Martin, sending a letter to be
mailed back TO him from Santa
claus and thus Cancelled with the
,Yule postmark. 1t was the hrSt
such request Martin had had.
But the Californian went far
Their He suggested that if the
name of the town could be
hanged 70 two words. Santa
Claus that would raise the tenn
perature of all good stamp collec-
tors. and might mean business Tor
the town.
POSTMASTER Martin, being a
s+snp collector himself. saw the
point. and wrote 20 Postmaster
General Harry New. an lndianan'
asking the change. New also "a"
the yo.rt. and Santaclaus became
Santa Claus, Ind.
When the next edition Of the
Postal Guide carried the change,
a food of mail designed 10 secure
SAMPLES Of this unique postal
marking BEGAN 20 rise, and II has
never subsidized. Ever since 1881
il has been necessary to put on a
large extra force of clerks to nan
die the hundreds Of thousands OF
letters.
The mass production of post
marks became by long odds the
biggest business Of Santa Claus.
In 1882 business was so heavy
that. the post office at Santa Claus
was raised from fourth class to
third class, and all the latest
equipment installed, including an
electric cancelling machine.
Some time ago a move was
started TO change the name, but
it was promptly buried under a
perfect avalanche of protests from
governors, senator's, representa-
tives, mayors, national organiza-
tions, and stamp collectors. 1t
was abandoned.
Department stores and otner
business then got next" Ihey
began sending Christmas direct
by-mail advertising to Santa Claus
TO be re-mailed' there with the
magic postmark that would give It
unusual attention, as direct from
Santa Claus"
NEARLY LOSES JOB
But the bulk of the mail is still
that of the stamp collectors, who
consider the Santa Claus post
mark on. an envelope unique,
"intensely sentimental in It's APP
peal" Every cOlorful and I'M
mensely interesting
Of course TO a nOn-stamp col
lector, it is just like any other
cancellation mark except that it
says Santa Claus, Ind" instead
of "Miasma, o."
The building up Of this big pos
tai business, oddly enough. al
most cost Postmaster Martin his
lob. When Santa Claus became
third instead of a fourth class
post office, the job Of postmaster
was automatically removed from
civil service and became ''presi
Dental appointment" in other
words in this case a political
plum.
Martin is a Republican and an
active one. He was all set for
the skids when three-cent postage
caused business to drop 70 the
point where Santa Claus was once
more safely back in the fourth