WARDSBORO — Wardsboro Curtain Call cordially invites everyone to attend their performance as they re-tell the heartwarming story about Virginia, her family and neighbors, the difficulties of an immigrant family struggling to live and work in New York City at the end of the 1800s, and the bountiful joys of the Christmas season.
The letter to The Sun newspaper that eight-year-old Virginia wrote at the urging of her father in New York City and the editorial response written by Francis Pharcellus Church have come to be known around the world. They were printed in the Sept. 21, 1897, edition of The Sun.
Originally, the editorial was published anonymously. It was only after Church's death in 1906 that his authorship was made known. From 1924 to 1950, Virginia's letter and Church's reply were reprinted every year until the paper ceased publication. The editorial continues to be printed by many papers even now and has gained notoriety as the most reprinted editorial in the English language.
Some liberties were taken when the story was written. Virginia's father, Philip O'Hanlon, was actually a surgeon. In the play, you will come to know him as James O'Hanlon, a dock worker. It has been written that his response to Virginia's question asking about the existence of Santa Claus was not adequate, so he suggested she write to The Sun, which she did.
She waited so long for an answer that she eventually forgot about it, until a friend of her father's called, saying the editorial was the most wonderful piece of writing he had ever seen. Edward Mitchell, the editor-in-chief at The Sun, had come across the letter and gave it to Church who wrote the reply in an afternoon.
Virginia grew up to be an English teacher in New York and received correspondence about her letter until her death in 1971.
Virginia's handwritten letter was returned to her family by the newspaper. It was authenticated by an appraiser on the popular public television show, Antiques Roadshow, in 1997. Its value at that time was estimated to be $50,000. Currently, the letter is in the care of her great-granddaughter.
The performances of Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus are scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 10, at 2 p.m. at the Wardsboro Town Hall. (1)Admission is free and all are welcome.
This Special section item was submitted to The Commons.