Christmas is around the corner, and I know that plenty of kids will be (or have been) writing their letters to Santa like Heather Hackney - the little girl in this photo.
Roughly 50 years ago, Romeo had a Santa Only Mail Box located where the Romeo Townhall Soda Foundation is at now, and 2-year-old Heather was one of the first to use it. In the November 29, 1973 issue of The Romeo Observer, children were encouraged to deposit their letters in that mailbox instead of the regular one because the mail would get to the North Pole quicker. The caption stated that the elves would come by to pick them up, thus saving gas. Considering that 1973 marked the beginning of the Great Inflation, this was a good incentive.
In addition, The Romeo Observer received word from Santa himself that he "will answer all children who write to him and who put return addresses on their letters."
Heather just happened to be in this picture because she was shopping with her grandmother Mrs. Jim Jacobs. I hope she had a great time shopping and getting her photo taken for the newspaper.
Do you remember the Santa Only Mail Box? Let us know at rca@romeodistrictlibrary.org.
Source: The Romeo Observer, November 29, 1973, p.1-A