Vintage letters to Santa have become a regular in my column at Christmas time. Today, nine of them from 1904 are presented without regard to spelling, punctuation and grammar; they are just as they arrived at the North Pole:

The advertisement that accompanies today's column came from a Dec. 1, 1957 Johnson City Press-Chronicle. Note that the former "Johnson's Depot" carried the tag, "The Christmas Town," stating that the city was ready with thousands of Yuletide delights!" Everywhere shoppers glanced, they saw dazzling, glittering arrays of gifts to put under their Christmas tree; toys to make a child's eyes grow wide with excitement; brilliant glowing lights and sparkling ornaments for decoration; Santa's Yule-tide pack overflowing with magic from all over the world to make Christmas the happiest, most thrilling they'd ever had; a need to hurry because time was a-wasting; join the holiday shopping throng now without delay.

During Christmas 1899, the Comet newspaper had for some time made an observation that Northern publishers dominated the field for magazines, leaving potential Southern ones "sitting on the side of the dirt road." The news publication felt there was a bona fide need for a first class Southern magazine, reflecting the best literary talents of the South.

Jay Prater, a frequent contributor to my Yesteryear articles, wrote me saying that he had diligently searched for his Duncan yo-yo after reading the Red Shield Boys' Club article last week on the History/Heritage page. So far, he has not located it, but won't stop looking for it. Today's column deals with Valentine's Day.