Post Office Workers (1963)

Duration: 6:41

Year Published: 1963

Format: 16mm

Sound: silent

Description: Shot by cameraman Gordon Wilkison for Austin’s KTBC (now Fox 7) on December 13, 1963, this raw news footage documents the work flow of an Austin-area post office at Christmastime. The holiday season was a busy time for the postal service, partly due to the booming Letters to Santa program, also known as Operation Santa. While the program began in 1902, it grew even more popular by the time of this segment as a result of the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. (Carson read letters to Santa Claus on the show once a week in December to the delight of audiences around the nation.)