Winfield woman spreads Christmas magic with Letters to Santa mailbox
A Winfield woman is channeling her inner elf to assist Santa, one letter at a time.
For a second year, Kathy Kemp has set up a Letters to Santa box on her front lawn, providing a public drop-off spot for anyone wishing to pen a letter to Santa.
“The corner that we live on, there’s so much traffic that passes by and I just thought about doing it,” she said. “I was shopping last Christmas with my sister, and I purchased the box and decided to do this. I said to my husband, ‘I got it. Please put it in the yard.’ ”
Kemp, 65, said her husband, Bob, is accommodating of her Christmas wishes and installed the box on a post.
Embracing her role as Santa’s helper, Kemp has collected more than 20 letters and makes sure all of the handwritten letters, many with photos included for Santa, make their way to the big man, himself.
“All of the letters have a North Pole postmark,” said Kemp, who works as a preschool photographer.
Buffalo Township resident Vickie Durst heard about the makeshift mailbox last Christmas season and helped her granddaughter, Elsie, who was 5 at the time, pen a detailed letter to Santa.
“It was so exciting for her and me,” said Durst, who plans to drive her granddaughter over to the mailbox in the coming days for a second Santa letter mailing. “Last year, Elsie called me when her letter from Santa arrived. She wanted to show it off to the entire family.
“Santa had written about Elsie’s teacher at school, and that meant a lot to her.”
Durst described Kemp’s Christmas act of kindness as special.
“I think it’s magical for children to capture the Christmas magic with something like this,” Durst said.
Kemp said submitted letters often include messages to Santa from each child’s Elf on the Shelf.
“Santa delivers his response letters to each child, answering each child’s curious questions, such as how Santa makes his monumental global gift run in one night,” Kemp said.
A huge lover of all things Christmas, Kemp still mourns the February 2022 death of her mother, Nancy Pacek of Tarentum. Celebrating Christmas without her is an emotional time, she said.
“A few years ago, we celebrated Christmas in July for my mom. That ended up being our last Christmas with her and was a highlight of her life,” Kemp said.
Pacek and her husband, Ted, were married for 65 years and lived in Tarentum.
Christmas was always a huge family affair, Kemp said.
“My mom would have loved this because my mom loved Christmas, and my dad even loves it. It gives him a big smile on his face,” she said. “We’re very much kid-oriented.”
Kemp has eight grown grandchildren.
People from Tarentum, Chicora, Valencia, Buffalo Township and Saxonburg have driven to the Cabot section of Winfield, to mail letters from her home, Kemp said.
“I live out in a rural area, but all are welcome,” she said.
One girl dropped off a letter with a homemade candy cane for Santa.
She said helping youngsters with a local Santa letter box has been rewarding.
“There’s no little ones in the near future, so this is how I get my ‘little kids’ joy,” Kemp said. “I get sucked in by making kids smile. If we do just a little, it will help to put a few smiles out in the world.”
Kemp said she often peeks out of her office window to watch children drop off their letters.
“There’s so much not-so-nice things in the world today, this is wonderful,” she said. “Santa told me one boy wrote ‘please don’t leave coal’ in his letter; and another tot wrote ‘I’ve been good, but my brothers have been stinkers’; and another boy offered ‘I have toys for me to take with you for other kids.’ ”
Given Santa’s hectic North Pole schedule, Kemp recommends all letters be dropped off by Dec. 8 to get a North Pole postmark.
The box, which was set up in mid-November, will be taken down around Dec. 21.
“This is our new Christmas tradition,” Kemp said.
To mail a letter, visit the Kemps’ home at 610 Winfield Road.
The driveway is large and can accommodate pulling off the road.
Joyce Hanz is a native of Charleston, S.C. and is a features reporter covering the Pittsburgh region. She majored in media arts and graduated from the University of South Carolina. She can be reached at jhanz@triblive.com
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