‘Seven Little Sisters’ Became Brooklyn’s Christmas Heart Warmer
Letter to Santa in 1913 from 12-Year-Old Turns Siblings Into Celebrities
A heart-warming letter to Santa Claus sent by a twelve-year-old Brooklyn, Maryland girl on behalf of herself and her “little sisters” in 1913 went viral in a Turn-of-the-Century way that ultimately turned the septit siblings into national celebrities. The sisters’ Christmas story became a cherished memory for years in Brooklyn, and was revisited occasionally in the years that followed. It was also notable given how fast and far-reaching the story became when radio and newspapers were the only sources of national news — and long before the advent of television, social media, Facebook, Instagram and viral videos.
The letter was written by Ruth Schline, the eldest daughter of seven girls in a middle-class family. Penned on November 22, 1913, the letter didn’t ask for gifts, but rather asked for Santa to remember their parents and the less fortunate. The authenticity and tenor of the letter must have tugged hard at the heartstrings of an editor at the Baltimore Sun. The newspaper had already been publishing letters to Santa for years, but something about this one stood out. It read:
Dear Santa Claus,
We are seven little sisters, Ruth, Edna, Gladys, Hilda, Evelyn, Olive and Reda Schline. There are so many of us we can’t expect very much, but we all want something to make us happy at Christmas. I am the oldest and I am writing this letter. I will be thirteen years old Christmas Day, and it’s a very happy time for me because my birthday and Christmas come together. Reda is our seventh sister and we all love her very much. Don’t forget Mama and Papa, also, the poor children and the ones that haven’t any sisters like us. Best wishes to Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Each one of us sends a kiss and that makes seven. Goodbye.
From the seven little sisters,
Brooklyn, Maryland
Looking for a inspiring holiday story, the Sun decided to develop a feature story around the letter and dispatched a photographer to the family’s home to get photos. Edna, the second oldest, recalled the affair in a Sun “I Remember …” column she authored in December 1972. “In those days, the Sunpapers published children’s letters to Santa Claus as Christmas approached,” she wrote. “And shortly before Thanksgiving Ruth decided to add our family’s sentiments to the letter column. The editor liked the spirit of the letter because we didn’t ask for any specific presents for ourselves. Instead we asked for Santa not to forget the poor children.”
The Schline family lived at #12 Fifth Street in Brooklyn, which back then was a dirt and oyster shell street, and just a short walk from one of the Curtis Bay Electric Railway stops on Patapsco Avenue. The town was a far different place in 1913. Baltimore would annex it five years later, but at that time it was still part of Anne Arundel County. Electrified trolleys shuttled people from Curtis Bay and Brooklyn across the Long Bridge into Baltimore and back. Automobiles had arrived in Baltimore, but they were only a scarce few. Horse-drawn wagons were still carrying people across town and people largely got around on foot. The Schline children walked to Public School #5 in Brooklyn every weekday.
When the photographer arrived at the Schline home with his camera on Thanksgiving Day, he posed each sister individually. Every time he took a picture a tray of flash powder would fire brilliantly and fill the room with light and a dense cloud of smoke. Three days later the story published in the Sun under a banner headline “Seven Little Sisters and Their Letter to Santa.” It included a photo of each of the sisters smiling broadly with bows in their hair. A photo of the letter they wrote and pictures of their mother and father bookended the article.
The response the story and its accompanying photographs evoked was remarkable. The feel-good holiday story was picked up by the Associated Press and appeared in newspapers all over the country. In the weeks after the story ran the Brooklyn family began receiving cards, letters and even gifts from well-wishers nationwide. Some people misunderstood the story, mistaking the family as impoverished and inquired about adopting the girls, which, Edna said, thoroughly angered her gainfully employed father. In a follow-up story published the day after Christmas the Sun described Christmas joy in the Schline house, with a huge tree in the parlor loaded down with glass balls, candies and aglow with candles (yes, candles), and the children “displaying their gifts with pride.” The story said there were dolls of all sizes and games of all kinds, and even a knit cap made especially for six-month old Reita (whose name was misspelled in Ruth’s letter).
GERMAN ROOTS
Like many of the residents of Brooklyn and Curtis Bay, the Schline family were European immigrants. William and Mary Schline arrived from Germany in Baltimore around 1910, according to Census records. William was carpenter who eventually worked his way up to master mechanic in the long-since-gone Orangeville shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company near present day Pulaski Highway and East Fayette Street just outside Baltimore. Mary was a skilled seamstress and homemaker and gave birth to nine children in all — the seven girls and then, after their brief brush with Christmas fame, two sons, William Jr. and Robert.
The national attention brought a bright ending to a difficult year. Gladys, the Schline’s ten-year-old middle child, contracted a severe case of Scarlett Fever in February and was unable to walk. Then Ruth got sick, and then Evelyn. All three were bed-ridden and needed constant attention from their mother, so the four of them were quarantined in a single room in the house to protect the other children. Neighbors, though sympathetic to their plight, were wary of getting too close to the house. It took two months before everyone was healthy again, but the children returned to school and quickly caught up on their studies; none were held back. But weeks later two more Schline children contracted Measles, and to make matters worse the State Board of Health closed their school in October after three children died from a diphtheria epidemic that was running rampant in town.
GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
The sisters’ Christmas letter remained a beloved family story for years after 1913. It resurfaced in 1964 when the Sun published a short article about the sisters in its “This was Baltimore 50 years ago” column. Evelyn, who had since become Evelyn Mitchell, said her sisters and mother, still then living at 84, were delighted to see the piece. The sisters remained a tight-knit group through the years and many remained in the Baltimore area. Five became secretaries, all completing their studies at Strayer Business College. They all married and had grandchildren, grand-nieces and grand-nephews, many of whom are still living in the area.
The Christmas letter was published 107 years ago, so it’s unsurprising the sisters have all passed away. Ruth, who started it all, married Clifford Lankford and moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida; she died in January 1994. The baby, Reita, married Layton Reed and moved to Easton, Maryland; she passed away in May 2005. In her column Edna credited her mother for the family tightness and warmth. “Mother taught us how to make a home,” Edna said. “Childhood is still a beautiful memory to all of us. We weren’t wealthy people. But we lived in a nice house … and we grew up with some priceless advantages.” And their descendants have a beautiful Christmas story to share.
Special thanks to the Baltimore Sun news archives.
Citations
Brooklyn-Curtis Bay Historical Committee (1976). A History of Brooklyn-Curtis Bay, p. 103, Baltimore, MD: J.C. O’Donovan & Co. Inc.
Baltimore Sun. (October 16, 1913). School Quarantine Raised.
Baltimore Sun. (December 1, 1913). The Seven Little Sisters and their letter to Santa.
Baltimore Sun. (December 6, 1913). Seven Little Sisters write.
Baltimore Sun. (December 26, 1913). Seven Little Sisters happy.
Brown, E. (December 3, 1972). I Remember the Seven Little Sisters’ Letter to Santa, Baltimore Sun
Mitchell, E.S. (June 12, 1964). The Seven Sisters, Baltimore Sun
