Every year The Republic runs an insert for the local schools' Letters to Santa. It compiles letters from many local school children in print, so families and friends can have a copy of their child's letter to share. All of the letters are handwritten by students and sent in by their teachers, leading to a stack of papers a mile high on my desk that I have to retype by hand while replicating each typo and misspelling to remain authentic to the student's original copy. We see it as important that we adhere to exactly what the children write -even if it is illegible - so they can see a part of themselves in the newspaper. Keeping each letter organized by school and class while tracking down the names of authors with poor penmanship requires constant communication with the teachers. It's chaotic at times, but a real joy to read through countless Christmas wishes.
