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This is what the announcer said at 4:30 p.m. one day about a week before Christmas 1950 over the airwaves of radio station KELA in Lewis County: “Yes, stand by for Santa Claus! The Beacon Store, Santa鈥檚 headquarters for southwest Washington, presents the most important radio program of the year, Santa鈥檚 very own. Santa鈥檚 Magic Radio! We鈥檙e going to take Santa鈥檚 Magic Radio and talk to Santa at his North Pole headquarters! So, stand by for Santa Claus!”

First of all, let me be very clear: I believe in Santa Claus. Second, I鈥檓 a sucker for grownups who do things to make the lives of kids more magical. When I was a little kid in the 1970s and was in my “doubting Santa” phase, I鈥檇 hear local and national media reports about NORAD tracking Santa鈥檚 sleigh, and my doubts were instantly 鈥� and permanently 鈥� erased.

Fast-forward about 40 years, and I learned this week that there were some grownups in Lewis County who did a pretty special thing every year to help Santa and local kids.

For about three weeks before Christmas, from sometime in the 1940s to sometime in the 1980s, radio station KELA in Centralia/Chehalis would use a “Magic Radio” to connect with Santa Claus at the North Pole for 15 minutes each day. With the swirling sounds of a blizzard in the background, and with help from a fast-talking elf named Tommy Tinker, Santa would read letters from local kids about what they wanted for Christmas.

This story begins for me last week, when my friend John Jenkins, who founded the incredible 聽in Bellingham, sent me a photo of a very old, giant record in the museum collection. The disc in question is called an “Electrical Transcription.” It鈥檚 16-inches in diameter, and was a common means for radio stations to record and play programs from the 1930s to roughly the 1960s.

The record John had photographed was from KELA, and it was marked “Santa Claus Program 1950.” When I saw the photo, I had a feeling right away that it was going to be something cool. And I wasn鈥檛 disappointed. On Friday, I made a trip to Georgetown and grabbed my special turntable that plays 16″ records from where it鈥檚 been living at MOHAI鈥檚 research facility. I called my brother, who lives up north, and he went to the SPARK Museum and picked up the record. We met halfway in Mount Vernon on Sunday morning, and I listened to and digitized the record on Sunday afternoon during that unfortunate Seahawks game.

Through 15 minutes of static and skipping and other sonic interference, a world of 68 years ago emerged from the disc as it spun on my kitchen table and magical voices traveled through the wires into my digital recorder and then into my headphones.

Santa Claus comes in over KELA’s “Magic Radio,” and he begins reading letters. From little Carol Smoots of Onalaska, we hear:

“She wants a piano for Christmas, she鈥檚 nine and a half years old,” Santa said. “Mama would like a new stove for Christmas and Daddy would like a new car because our car is falling to pieces. Well, now, isn鈥檛 that shame! My goodness, falling to pieces! We鈥檙e going to have to bring some nuts and some bolts and some haywire down there and we鈥檒l put that car back together. And maybe, I don鈥檛 know, these new cars are awful expensive.”

Santa on the radio

I knew the recording was priceless and cool, but I didn鈥檛 know any of the backstory. Fortunately, I鈥檇 posted a photo of the record label on Facebook, and I soon heard from a wonderful retired KELA radio guy named Steve Richert who grew up in Chehalis and now lives in Beaverton, Ore.

Richert worked at KELA for 42 years, beginning in 1971. He told me all about the long-running 鈥渓etters to Santa鈥� program that he first heard as a kid in the 1950s. Richert said a local feed-and-seed store owner named Jimmy Voegele played Santa on the show for about 30 years.

鈥淗e had sound effects and he had bells, and we’d start with a big wind effect with the introduction,鈥� Richert said. 鈥淎nd then [we鈥檇 try] to bring him in on the 鈥楳agic Radio鈥�: 鈥極kay kids, we’re gonna try and bring in Santa Claus on our Magic Radio,鈥� and then you’d hear all that static and squealing sounds as you’re trying to tune him in, and then all of a sudden, this wind sound would come pouring in as a backdrop to his show.鈥�

Richert says the whole thing might seem cheesy now, but at the time, and for those who still remember, it was just plain magic.

鈥淪anta actually is reading the letter he got from you on his Magic Radio out of the North Pole with the wind blowing in the background,鈥� Richert said. 鈥淎nd Jimmy was good at adlibbing things about the requests and throwing in little comments and endearing himself even more to the kids and, by extension the parents.

鈥淚t was an opportunity for parents who wanted to extend the Christmas feeling that they had, back when they were youngsters, onto their children,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd vicariously wrapping themselves up in that whole feeling.鈥�

And who played Tommy Tinker, the elf sidekick?

鈥淸Jimmy] had a cart player [a device radio stations once used to play songs, sound effects and other audio] that had the voice of Tommy Tinker … it was like Alvin and the Chipmunks . . . it was speeded up so fast you couldn’t understand what he was saying,鈥� Richert said.

Ultimately, Richert says he became the voice of Tommy Tinker.

鈥淚 had to redo [the Tommy Tinker tapes played by the cart machine] that either got damaged or lost,鈥� Richer said. 鈥淪o I went down there [to the studio] and I actually would say things I made up, a lot of stuff, nothing obscene or anything. That was a fun part of radio.鈥�

Tommy Tinker makes several appearances in the recording from 1950, along with so many other great moments, so it鈥檚 definitely worth listening to the entire 15 minutes. Santa reads full names and hometowns of all the kids, and even mentions the street addresses of a few. The kids, who would all be at least in their 70s by now, are from places like Centralia, Chehalis, Napavine, and Onalaska.

Bring my brother home

In one of my favorite moments, one young letter-writer channels Ralphie in 鈥淎 Christmas Story,鈥� and then poignantly mentions the whereabouts of an older brother.

鈥淎nd here鈥檚 a nice letter from, let鈥檚 see, this is from Chehalis or Centralia. It鈥檚 from Jim Hudson,鈥� Santa said. 鈥淗e says he wants a sailboat, a Red Ryder BB gun, a basketball, and he says 鈥榖ring my big brother Eugene something too. I think he might be home for Christmas. He is in Korea. And please bring something for my two big sisters Edna and Temple and maybe some perfume or hair lotion. And I know you鈥檙e busy, I hope you鈥檒l find time to come by my house.鈥� He鈥檚 seven years old.鈥�

The Korean War had just begun that summer of 1950, and big brother Eugene Hudson was, apparently, already in the thick of it. How I鈥檇 love to know how Eugene fared in that tour of duty.

Richert says he鈥檚 in touch with a lot of Chehalis/Centralia old-timers , and he says that memories of KELA鈥檚 鈥淟etters to Santa鈥� program come up in online discussions every Christmas.

Richert also said that Jimmy Voegele hosted a weekend gardening show on KELA year-round back in the 1960s and 1970s, and that at his feed-and-seed shop in Centralia, he was popular with his customers.

鈥淗e was very outgoing. Very friendly guy. And just fun to talk to. Very energetic. He was fairly short [and] had kind of a ruddy complexion, wore glasses,鈥� Richert said.

He was a 鈥渓ittle bit of an elf,鈥� he said, jokingly. Voegele passed away in 1979, Richert said, and a man named Ed Jeffries took over as Santa for at least a few more years until the show ended.

Radio pranks

Richert shared one more anecdote about Voegele from the early years of the Santa show. It seems that in 1940s and early 1950s, there wasn鈥檛 an auxiliary studio from which Santa could broadcast. So, since radio is notoriously both a cheap and inventive industry, the KELA engineer ran a microphone cable down the hall, and Santa officiated over his daily broadcast from the men鈥檚 room, while seated atop a white porcelain throne.

During one broadcast, Richert says, the inevitable happened. Did I mention that radio is also a notoriously mischievous industry?

鈥淪omeone, as a prank, went in there and pushed down the flush handle on the toilet,鈥� in Santa鈥檚 stall while the show was on the air, Richert said.

But old Santa wasn鈥檛 too rattled by the unexpected sound effects.

鈥淸Jimmy] adlibbed his way through it, 鈥極h, the wind is really kicking up a storm here at the North Pole!鈥�

We鈥檝e posted the entire recording and the list of letter-writers in hopes that this will get shared, and maybe some of the kids mentioned can be tracked down. I鈥檇 love to hear their memories of having their letters read by Santa on KELA. Please email me via fbanel@kiroradio.com

List of KELA long-ago Santa letter-writers from December 1950

Margaret Kelsey

Burton 鈥淩oger鈥� Kelsey, age 6

1006 Old Chehalis Road in Centralia

 

Anna Louise Berks

Route 3 in Centralia

 

Walter and Warren Hall, 6-year old twins

Chehalis address but attend Napavine school

 

Freddy Reinke (spelling?)

Chehalis

 

Nalga Zard (spelling?)

Chehalis

 

Lowell Bailey, Age 6

Centralia

 

Donny Smoots, 4 and a half

Carol Smoots, 9 and a half

Onalaska

 

Jeff Gustafson, 5 years old

Chehalis

 

Mike Lyvig

Pat Lyvig

Chehalis

 

Rudy Graves, 8

Judy Graves, 7

Chehalis

 

Donna Olson

Dwayne Olson

(location not mentioned)

 

Lynnette Williams

Leslie Williams

Centralia

 

Margaret Basem (spelling?)

Centralia

 

Jim Hudson, 7

Timmy Hudson, 6

Eugene Hudson (serving in Korea)

Edna Hudson (older sister)

Temple Hudson (older sister)

Chehalis or Centralia

Editor’s note: This story was originally published in December 2018. A “lost and found sound” update was published in December 2021.

You can hear Feliks every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle鈥檚 Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien, read more from him here, and subscribe to The Resident Historian Podcast聽here. If you have a story idea, please email Feliks鈥�here.