Vigo County Historical Society
Historical Treasure Article
Historic Treasure of the Week -
December 22, 2002
By Marylee Hagan
Vigo County Historical Society
Western Union telegrams were popular way of sending greetings
Season’s greetings! Happy holidays! Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah!
All of these salutations are filling the air and arriving every day in our mailboxes. Not so long ago, another way of sending greetings to friends and loved ones was popular.
Western Union telegrams often were used to send holiday greetings as well as greetings for anniversaries, birthdays and other happy occasions. Unfortunately during times of war, families were notified of the deaths of loved ones by telegram.
The telegrams pictured here were obviously sent for happy reasons, letting the recipients know they were being thought of by family and friends during the holiday season.
Both telegrams are decorated with colorful borders featuring Santa Claus. One was designed by one of America’s favorite illustrators, Norman Rockwell. Neither telegram is dated, but are probably from the 1940s or 1950s.
Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Wilkinson were wished “good health and prosperity throughout the year and the years to come” and Larry wished the L.B. Carroll family “Christmas cheer and health and happiness throughout next year.”
The Vigo County Historical Society won’t be sending you a telegram greeting this year, but it is certainly sending good wishes to all of its faithful Historical Treasure readers. So . . . happy holidays and a healthy and prosperous New Year from all of us to all of you!
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The Web site: http://web.indstate.edu/community/vchs.