Joy Chittum has sent out hundreds of Christmas cards-and the big rush is still ahead.
Chittum isn`t Yule crazy. Mailing out Christmas cards is her job: She`s the postmistress of Christmas, a settlement east of Orlando on Florida Highway 50.
Because ”Christmas, Fla.” is a much-sought postmark at this time of year, it`s not surprising that Chittum`s mailbags are noticeably heavier. This month, when the bulk of the Christmas-oriented mail reaches her office, Chittum will cancel well over 150,000 pieces of mail with the distinctive mark.
Most of the mail is run through canceling machines, but for tourists who stop at the post office Chittum has an extra something: a rubber stamp with which they can imprint a Christmas, Fla., cachet on their envelopes.
Among the mail she receives are many addressed simply to ”Santa Claus.” Those get special handling.
For such letter writers, Jack James, a Christmas resident, becomes Santa Claus. To each, he sends a special postcard with the message, ”Lots of love, Santa.”
”I just want to let the kids know Santa received their letter,” said James, who has been standing in for Santa in this fashion for more than 20 years.
What do children who write in want for Christmas?
Nintendo is still a favorite with many, James said. ”But Barbie`s coming back.” Also gaining popularity are portable games.
The letters run the gamut.
”Kids can be funny,” he said, ”like the one who wrote, `I don`t really believe in you, but just in case you come, here`s my list.` ”
A few tear at the heartstrings. Last year, James said, the Postal Workers` Group asked him to send any letters that seemed to need special treatment to them.
”I sent over four or five from needy children. They sent them food and toys.”
Across the street from the post office is a Christmas garden with decorated trees, creches and other Christmas-related exhibits. The garden, through which visitors can wander, was originated, and is maintained, by Juanita Tucker, a longtime postmistress of Christmas, Chittum`s predecessor.
In addition to mail addressed to Christmas, Fla., James also sends replies to Santa Claus letters received by the Orlando post office. Last year he received 3,500 letters from both offices and answered 2,250, the most ever. James pays for the postcards he mails to the children, at 19 cents each, a substantial amount.
A mile down the road, meanwhile, stands another Christmas attraction, Ft. Christmas, a replica of the original, which was built of logs in two days starting on Christmas Day (1837) during the Second Seminole War.
Fourteen years ago Orange County decided to rebuild the fort, which didn`t last long after the war. However, it took workers two years to complete the replica. The present fort was dedicated in 1977, 140 years from the day the Army left Ft. Mellon to create the fort.
Today, after a renovation that had closed the fort for 15 months ended last year, it offers a close look at a war that is little understood.
Flintlock muskets made at the Harpers Ferry armory are stacked in the powder magazine. An 1825 mountain howitzer, popular because of its relatively light weight (275 pounds), stands in the compound next to its 12-pound shot. Gun ports in the corner blockhouses look out on the bucolic pine-and-oak countryside beyond the tall palisades.
Within the blockhouses and storehouse are exhibits on the period. Military displays include such items as weapons, uniforms, powder flasks and the like.
Copies of treaties are displayed, as well as portraits of Indian leaders of the time, among them Coacoochee, considered the greatest of the Seminole warriors; and Osceola and Alligator, who launched a surprise attack on Maj. Francis Dade near what is now Bushnell.
It may seem strange that this structure of war was named for the day celebrated as the birthday of the Prince of Peace. But in a sense, Ft. Christmas did live up to its name: It never saw military action, served only as a supply base and in two months was bypassed and abandoned for good.
Today, in its rebuilt form, it stands as the principal structure in a park dedicated to recreation and reflection.
What better role for a place with a name like Christmas?
