On October 9, 1939, our editor sent a telegram to James Farley, the postmaster general, in Washington, D.C. The telegram read:
“Would appreciate your reestablishing post office at Christmas, Arizona, for one day so that we could mail December issue of Arizona Highways from there. Can it be arranged? Swell chance for post office department to do good turn during yuletide. Appreciate reply soon. Best regards. Arizona Highways.”
In response, in so many words (170, to be exact), Mr. Farley told our editor he was out of luck. The post office in Gila County had been discontinued on March 30, 1935, “due to limited patronage,” and Christmas, Arizona, had effectively become a ghost town. There would be no resurrection. Not even for a day.
In the wake of that denial, our editor might have looked north, to a place called Santa Claus, Arizona, for a similar opportunity. Located 14 miles northwest of Kingman, the “town” was founded in 1937 by Ninon Talbott and her husband, Edward, who had moved to Kingman from California. Mrs. Talbott, who became known as “Mrs. Santa Claus,” liked the desert and loved to cook. And so, she drew up plans for the Christmas Tree Inn — a place that “would delight children as well as grown-ups.” Among those who came to visit was the renowned food critic Duncan Hines. He raved about the food, which included Eskimo Fruit Cocktail, North Pole Salad, Poinsettia Soup, Reindeer and Chicken Soup, Filet Mignon à la Santa Claus and Kris Kringle Rum Pie.
Eventually, the town would grow to include a gift shop, a campground and a post office, which attracted visitors from all over who would drop in to send their children letters from St. Nick with a “Santa Claus” postmark. By the 1970s, though, after being sold a couple of times — to Doc and Erma Bromaghim and Lee and Frankie Ratliff — the town had lost its allure, and in 1995, the last of the businesses closed for good.
Yes, Virginia, there was a Santa Claus. In Northwestern Arizona.
— Robert Stieve