The INDEPENDENT, December 18, 2003 Page 3 Letters Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus (from the Editorial Page of The New York Sun, written by Fran- cis P. Church, September 21, 1897) To the Editor: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus? Virginia O’Hanlon New York Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been af- fected by the scepticism of a sceptical age. They do not be- lieve except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or chil- dren’s are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. Yes, Virginia, there is a San- ta Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and de- votion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no child-like faith then, no poetry, no ro- mance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imag- ine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. You tear apart the baby’s rat- tle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil Between the Bookends By Nancy Burch, Librarian Vernonia Public Library This is such a very spe- cial season and each year as it approaches I find my- self wanting to express just the “right” message to readers of this column. It would seem that with all of the written material in the li- brary from fictional short stories, magazines, chil- dren’s books, poems, and inspirational mes- sages, the “right” words would appear. In previ- ous years I’ve written about the meaning of holi- day traditions and legends, included a special poem, or favorite part of a book. This year I picked up a little book entitled, The Joy of Christ- mas. This is an older book with beautiful colored pictures accompanied by writings (poems, words from songs, etc.). Several pages have pictures of candles that brought to mind memories of my mother—a very dedicated elementary school teacher. She also was quite talented artistically and after retiring from teaching volunteered weekly in a fourth grade classroom where she taught watercolors to the students. Each De- cember for as long as I can remember, the proj- ect was a wonderful picture of three candles. Each student handwrote a poem about candles and their meaning and the end result was a gift for the parents. Even though the sample and the stages of painting were always the same, each finished picture was beautiful and unique, re- flecting the differences of each child. I especially remember these paintings because my job each year was to lightly make the measured lines in which the poem was written. (That’s exactly how artistic I was.) I do not have a copy of that poem but pictures of Christmas candles always make me remember those days—my mother’s dedica- tion and the pleasure she received while giving to these students and their families. So, I guess this year I would just like to wish that each of you may give that you may receive—in whatever way your lifestyle or belief leads and also to re- member that the differences of each individual have the potential for making beautiful, unique impressions in this world. Thanks to The St. Helens Bookshop, a variety of materials are available in the library for pur- chase (adoption) as holiday gifts for the library. The prices are visible by each item and reflect 20 percent savings over retail prices. The Friends of the Library spent this past Sat- urday at Barnes & Noble, wrapping gift books as a fundraiser. Barnes & Noble offers this activity to nonprofit organizations throughout the holiday season. They provide the supplies and the or- ganization just provides a donation container for shoppers to make donations if they so wish. This is a great fundraiser and it’s fun. The next meeting of The Friends will be Tuesday, January 6, 2004, in the library at 7:00 p.m. The beginning of the year is the time to renew memberships in this organization and new members are always welcomed. The best book that I’ve recently read is The Keeper’s Son by Homer Hickam. This historical novel is based on German submarine attacks on the Eastern coast of the United States during World War II. It fictionalizes an island called Kil- lakeet and its citizens who are targeted for de- struction by one of the submarines and defend- ed only by one ill-equipped Coast Guard boat and crew. This novel combines humor, romance and suspense and the author has promised that this is the first in a series. Be watching for the next one by Homer Hickam, who is the author of Rocket Boys, from which the movie October Sky was made. Happy Holidays to each of you! Vernonia Public Library: 701 Weed Ave. Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Tues., Thur. 2 p.m. - 7 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Preschool Story Time: Mondays, 10:00 a.m., when school is in session. Phone: (503 ) 429-1818 covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, ro- mance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Vir- ginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Vir- ginia, nay, ten times ten thou- sand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood. Thankful for all who make lives better To the Editor: The holiday season gives all of us an opportunity to send greetings and best wishes to family and friends. It also offers us time to reflect on the sacri- fices made and the losses en- dured by our fellow countrymen as they work to bring about peace in the world. We have much to be thankful for, particu- larly the opportunity to live in freedom as Americans and to live in a violence free environ- ment. Each day, I appreciate more and more our peacekeep- ers, and advocates whose dili- gence and dedication have made it possible for all of us to continue to enjoy that freedom and peace. As you celebrate your own holiday traditions, please take a moment to reflect on the contri- butions our community has made in supporting the cause of human freedom. With your extraordinary support, our net- work of services for victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and for persons facing other crises has provid- ed a deepened appreciation and understanding of the cul- tures we live in, embraced the differences of our neighbors, and developed the qualities necessary to be caring and re- sponsible citizens in a violence free environment. Many agencies have played a major role in our accomplish- ments in educating the commu- nity about Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault issues in Columbia County, and I am deeply grateful to all of you who have made the progress of our mission possible by strengthen- ing services to victims of Do- mestic Violence and Sexual As- sault. In this spirit, I want to say thank you and best wishes for the holiday season. Vickie J. Hagan Executive Director Columbia County Women’s Resource Center Newcomer is glad to make Vernonia home To the Editor: I would like to say, “Thank you” to the folks from Vernonia and surrounding area who made the scenic Coast Range trek to Farmwoman’s Nursery for the Christmas in the Coun- try Bazaar antique and craft show, November 21-23, also to Mrs. Poetter and her hard- working staff, Ron, Shawn and Tracy for the fantastic job they did in putting together a fun event. The fragrance of fresh wreaths, and homemade pas- tries were too much to resist, as was the nice selection of items for sale. Although new to Vernonia, I was made to feel right at home by everyone I met. My family and I are glad to be home in Vernonia. Sincerely, Paula Hanson Vernonia Kindness made her Christmas complete To the Editor: I would like to thank the woman who turned my money order in at the Post Office. I was frantic because it was a Christmas gift for my grandchil- dren. I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am. It made my Christmas complete. Thank you and warm wishes. Debra Curtis Vernonia Group benefits from generous donation To the Editor: The Vernonia Columbia Community Mental Health staff thanks Randy Parrow of Sentry Market who generously donat- ed a turkey to our Clean and Sober November get together. These functions are an im- portant benefit to this communi- ty and we appreciate it very much. We had a great time. CCMH Staff Vernonia