© Kathy Duncan, 2026
While living near Vinita in the Indian Territory, little Beulah Galt penned a letter to Santa Claus. Beulah came from a family of letter writers on her mother's side. Her grandfather, John Deloss Brown, frequently wrote letters to the editor. One of his letters regarded a trip that he made back to his childhood home in Pike County, Illinois, when he was elderly. Beulah's uncles, Joel Herbert Brown and Charles A. Brown, also wrote frequent letters to editors chronicling their adventures in California.
Beulah's letter to Vinita's Weekly Chieftain made simple requests: a doll trunk, candy, a ring, and some oranges. She also thought to mention her three younger sisters. She did not, however, mention her brother Junius because Junius wrote his own letter.
Junius's letter, written on the same day as Beulah's, gives us a peek into their family life. Junius and Beulah had a donkey that they rode and a new saddle. Apparently, the donkey tended to end up in mud puddles that he did not want to leave. They seem to have also had a dog named Bruno. Junius, at age seven, had been in school for one month. He asked Santa to bring him a box of tools, candy, apples, and a little ax. He also thought to provide Santa with directions to their house near Mr. Shanahan's.
The following year, Junius Galt, age eight, wrote another letter to Santa. This time, he requested a gun, a watch, and candy. He does not mention his younger siblings. No letter from Beulah appeared that year. Junius instructed Santa to come in the south door and promised Santa a hot cup of coffee. What, no cookies?
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