A Burnt Fork Santa Claus

A Burnt Fork Santa Claus by Maud Van Buren

Mrs. Culberson, a struggling homesteader near Henry's Fork, keeps her five children fed on salted suckers through a hard winter while her improvident husband, Pa Culberson, has been away working with sheepmen for over three months without word. Two days before Christmas, she rations out her meager stores—a small piece of bacon, sugar, rice, and coffee kept aside for sickness—and plans a modest Christmas dinner. Deciding not to be selfish, she resolves to fetch her elderly, widowed neighbor Grandma Clark, whose grandson Charley is also away herding sheep, so she won't spend the holiday alone. The family dresses in their best worn clothes and sets out on their donkey-drawn wagon to collect her. Meanwhile, at his ranch near Burnt Fork, old bachelor Jack Nevin—who has no real family but has long invented an imaginary wife and children to fill the loneliness of his life—makes his annual supply trip to Green River just before the holidays. Seeing the town's Christmas displays, and prompted by the livery stable owner Hall's teasing question about his "folks," Jack impulsively buys gifts for his imaginary family: a sweater, hoods, flannel, gingham, calico, and toys, aided by his landlady and her daughter Emma. Fearing the ridicule of the Burnt Fork cowboys who might discover his sentimental purchases, he decides to dump the gifts into an air hole in Henry's Fork on his way home rather than be caught with them. Driving to avoid the regular crossing, Jack passes the Culberson cabin, sees smoke from the chimney, and stops to warm himself, finding no one home. Inside, he observes the family's poverty—sliced bacon for Christmas dinner, an eggless cake, no chairs—and notices a boy's cap hanging on a peg. Moved by what he sees, he spends an hour unloading his gifts and provisions into the cabin: canned goods, dried fruit, ham, sugar, coffee, tea, flour, a coat and lamp for the mother, and candy, nuts, and dolls for the children. Realizing he bought nothing for the boy, he adds his own new shotgun and ammunition, propping the boy's cap on its muzzle. He lights the new lamp, stokes the stove, and leaves before the family returns, passing their wagon on the road without being recognized. The Culbersons and Grandma Clark return to find the cabin transformed—lit lamp, cake, and packages everywhere—and no sign of Pa. A note on a calendar reads: "The gun is for the boy. The rest is for all of you. Yours truly, Santy Claus." The family celebrates with a full supper, the children reveling in their new gifts—Henry Clay with his gun, the girls with ribbons, hoods, and books, and little C'listie hugging a doll. Mrs. Culberson, tucking away the unopened packages, jokes that she is saving her best quilt for "Santa Claus," since she intends to meet him again someday.

By Maud Van Buren · First published 1927 · Genre: Christmas Fiction, Frontier Fiction, Historical Fiction · 4,928 words

First lines

_Elinore Pruitt Stewart_

Mrs. Culberson stood in her cabin door, and looked out upon the / sparkling beauty of a sunny winter morning. Beyond the valley rose the / shining, snow-covered mountains. A mile below lay the white surface / of Henry's Fork, tree-bordered and ice-bound. She could see the exact / spot in the stream where she and the children had caught the barrel of / suckers that had been their chief food since the snow came.[28]

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A Burnt Fork Santa Claus is listed on Textopian as a short story by Maud Van Buren, dated 1927 CE.

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Genres

Tags

Christmas · holiday · Santa Claus · festive · whimsical · family · children's literature · folk tale · seasonal · magical · winter · adventure

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