Dear Santa, Past and Present

             Children have been writing letters to Santa for a long time. The system must be one that has helped both Santa and parents. Just knowing what is desired by the young, helps to know what to put in Santa's pack.

            Many of the current letters ask for at least one electronic item. Often the whole message is about ipods and MP3 players, Smartphones and specific electronic games and devices.

            Looking over Dear Santa letters in the archives of my local newpaper ,the children of fifty years ago had quite different toys  mentioned on many requests: Sonic Blaster, Rocker Socker Robot, 5 speed racing bike with handle brakes, Walkie Talkie, Johnny Eagle Army gun, Ruthie doll, Baby First Step, a musical train, roller skates, Penny Bright doll, Barbie Dream House, Suzy Bake Oven. Some letters weren't so particular in the brands and asked for a sled or a basketball. Most made mention that they would leave a snack for the bearded gentleman, usually cookies. Some even said “Thank You” for the gifts of Christmas past.

             The letters from 1916, one hundred years ago, give us a picture of not only an earlier time, but with expressions of what was needed more than what was wanted. Here are some samples: a horse with wheels, a pocket knife, a pair of skates, baby doll, little wagon, nuts and candy, a baby buggy for a doll already in hand, a big top. One young lady asked for a “muff and fur.” The child or today would have no idea what a muff even is. The fur would keep her neck warm, the muff was cylindrical, made of warm fabric and held in front, a hand thrust into each open side, to keep the hands toasty. The requests of a century back that touched this writer the most were those of overshoes, mittens, an orange, and good things to eat. Many families were struggling for survival in the early 1900's.

            The passage of time shows that some things remain the same. Prosperity over poverty is indicated. The holiday, the wish for celebration is still strong.  It is still a time for hope, for kindness, for thinking of others beyond self.  The magic that comes with the season is still intact. The technology of today has everyone in its grip. Letters are still being written, even though the children of even 25 years ago could not have even imagined the items that are now on the lists of the average youngster of 2016.

Remember, oh remember

Today is the "evening before" historically, one of those dates that changed the entire world forever.
            I have wondered what was going through the military minds of the Janpanese generals, all who were involved in their decision to attack the United States the next morning.  Did they sleep well?  Were they excited about the prospects?
           A quote from one of my favorite history texts. "The United States was plunged into the inferno of WWII with the most stupefying and humiliating military defeat in its history.  In the dismal months that ensued, the democratic world teetered on the raw edge of disaster .....The Japanese fanatics forgot that when one stabs a king, one must stab to kill.."   Now, as I study history and read from publications dated in 1940, 1941, I realize that Japan was sending ambassadors to the US at this time who were  throwing up a blind in Washington as they talked about how peace-seeking they were, claiming to be no threat as the European Front raged on.
             I can't claim to remember the radio broadcast that announced this deed to the world at large on Dec 7, 1941. At that time my home was a ranch in the middle of Wyoming, with no electricity, no radio to bring the news. But I do remember young men that I loved being drafted into the US Army.
            By the end of the war I was a very little girl, in a small coal-mining town in Wyoming.  
 I do remember having blackouts, blinds pulled tight around the windows, all street lights darkened and hearing the drone of plane motors during the black of  night. It was confusing, why would a little place in the middle of nowhere be of interest in this big war?  Years later I realized that the very ground I walked on would have quite a bit of value in a war, the coal providing energy for the very things that are needed to battle.
             The Japanese families that lived in our community were soon moved to another area.  Because they were genetically connected to the enemy our government feared they might act as saboteurs in case of invasion. I didn't understand that either.  But times were changing, and there is often no control over changes that come our way.  I didn't have to understand.  My grandfather wouldn't be able to go over to his pals for a glass of Sake any more.   There were no more oranges placed on the graves of the Japanese ancestors  on Memorial Day,  It was a situation that one accepted, whether one liked it or not.  It proved to be unnecessary and the records show that the Japanese-Americans had a high degree of loyalty to their new country.  Their combat record was excellent, particularly those in Hawaii.
          We lived with things like rationing of sugar, hard paper discs that acted as money in some cases, but it didn't feel or sound like money.  I think they were called tokens.  Women entered the armed forces as they never had before.  Although the need for nurses was still huge, women  filled all sorts of jobs as WACS, WAVES, Marines and SPARS.
          Those stars in the windows of homes with a fighting man sent a multitude of messages.  One was that their soldier had given his life for the cause.  It was a time laced with occasional victories, it was a time laced with much sadness. 
            No war can be pretty, no war can be simple.WWII had some dates engraved on the minds of those that lived through it.  Those dates can serve to cause us to reflect and to be grateful for the world we now have. The outcome could have been different.  I hope to remember, to share the memories with those I hold dear.  The need for awareness in every present.  History should not be erased as time goes on,  there are too many important lessons that the world needs