27 Herald & lantern 19 December '84 | ' — i — T~ ~

Santa Comes to Children Because Adults Believe

By STANLEY KOTZEN Dear Virginia, You probably will not read this letter, but it is in response to that now classic question you posed to the editor of the New York "'Sun" in 1897 when you were 8 years old. Your skeptical friends who prompted you to inquire if

there was a Santa Claus have produced more generations of doubters, but be assured that at this Holiday Season as in every one for the past 87 years, the finest in the human spirit, the joy of childhood, is everywhere upon the land. We sometimes lose sight of this in the maze of modern complexities, but we cannot hide that special good feeling that invests those of us who have never lost the wonder and delight of this season. % 1 THERE HAS BEEN an abundance of evidence to support the cynics who believe only in what they can see and touch. After all, they have seen and touched events that you never got to experience and probably cannot even imagine. You never knew World War or the Nuclear Age, and terrorism and genocide were terms that had never even been anticipated. You've missed a polluted environment and drugs and the highway death toll. You've also missed a lot of crime and enough natural disasters to make skeptics of even the most hearty of adults. So, there has been ample justification for the human race to lose faith, and alarmingly to pass that lack of faith on to youngs tefs like yourself. This is the saddest comment of our timdf. Too many of us have surrendered to reality and passivSv find it safer not to dream and hope. BUT SANTA still comes to children every year because many adultk c«tinue to believe in the basic goodness of our species. A little Dutch girl named Anne Frank, not much older than you, saw things this way and told the world abotit it from an attic hideaway 40 years ago. Those who still maintain a faith in the wonder of the lifeforce have been encouraged by the continuing joy that seems to seize the young -at-heart during this season. The faithful know that it gets a little harder to believe each year because we are beset with examples of greed and cruelty that are enough to soften even the strongest will. However, what exists ana endures to help us enjoy the spark of life that is wrapped up in a child's expectations is the very thought of Santa. - . THE SPIRIT has survived in spite of the commercialism and the cynicism because of the seemingly endless supply of Virginias. M , We continue to be reminded of what is best in all ot us — A CHRISTMAS FABLE rnp —A I /VI/1J i / \LJL-i-

when we see the glow erf anticipation in the faces of children. Happy Holidays, Virginia! Your belief will sustain us all. (ED. NOTE: Lower Cape May Regional High School Principal Kotzen regularly writes 'From the Principal' for the Herald-Lantern.)

By FRANCES TRUNK Santa Claus was in a fix Didn't know which way to turn His dollmaker had just quit Causing Santa much concer He checked with all the agencies But he had no luck at all A worse feeling so near Chris tma Santa just could not recall A man came looking for a job A dollmaker, so he stated Santa put him straight to work Ho-ho boing, quite elated In his haste, our dear old Kris in nis nasie, uui uwu uiu w »

• Forgot to check the finished batches Instead of dolls so cute and dainty Have you seen the Cabbage Patches? •J ' ' ' Welcome _ " ' & Si Ail Unique new country & gift shop. Featuring brass, £ ? pewter and decor for the M & country home on Rt. 9 turn at W S. Calvary Baptist Church, go 1 mile £ jg to center of town. ^ Discover our unique Folk Art H Gifts and Country Furniture

Colonial Consignment » 60 Central Square «. Lin wood, N.J. 08221 & 653-1177 Open ti 7 Day* A Week

Country Crossroads ^ em Kings Hgwy., & So. SeavMe, NJ. 08246 624-1177 «L Open Wed. Ihnj Set. ltw -N Sun. 124 ^ fP jjr jfP V- V- 'if- i'

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Wishing You The Special Joy That Only Christmas Brings THE - village stftcbenr 523 Broadway West Cape May 884-5785

©« CX B-chOrO onO tvom

■ v# Money that's put into out-of-town bonks and 5 G L s thot hove recently opened branches in South Jersey is used to benefit somebody else's home tovyn. NOT OURS. Thot doesn't moke sense, to us. For over 43 yeors, the Anchor Savings & Loon nome has hod o decided impact on the growth of Atlantic and Cope Moy Counties. max offke 927-6111 atlantic city branch 348-1183 dmgantwe branch 266-3211

It's where we live. To us. our community comes first. I At Anchor, we believe in pgrong ~- your money right bock where we got it. YOUR HOME TOWN Our nome remains AntSpr Savings 6 Loon, and we still take I / the time to serve your needs «l it tokes to reoch us is o locol phijn'e coil! . J) unwooo branch j 927-8899 fj J north cape may branch 886-5422 vehtnor branch 822 5661 -A 1 i /

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ANCHOR! SAVINGS & LOAN. I — — association " I,