Atlanta, GA
Finding a Christmas letter from “Little Mary” Phagan
Courtesy of CB Hackworth
In the early part of the last century, at Christmastime, the Atlanta Journal customarily encouraged children of its readers to write Santa Claus short letters and entrust the newspaper with their safe delivery to the North Pole.
No suspicions were raised, apparently, when the Journal printed many of those letters a few days before the holiday.
And so it came to pass that the endearing, sometimes humorous wish lists of almost 300 kids filled two full pages in the edition published on December 23, 1908. In the middle of all that gray type, hidden in plain sight and forgotten for well over a century, was one that’s historically noteworthy:
Dear Santa Claus: I am a little girl nine years old. My papa is dead. I have no one to look to but mamma. We are very poor, too, I will ask you to bring what I want. A nice doll and carriage, a tea set, and something for mamma. Be careful and don’t get smutty. Your friend, MARY PHAGAN, College Park, Ga., Gate City Mills, No. 47.
I discovered the small item just a couple weeks ago during eleventh hour fact-checking for Andrew Young’s eight-part documentary series Atlanta Story, expected to air on Georgia Public Broadcasting early in 2026. Even after more than three years in production, I’m compelled to follow rabbits down wikiholes—and not for nothing. Very recent advances in technology have enabled us to use almost forensic detective work to investigate and uncover a fascinating, untold history of Atlanta.
As much as possible, I try to avoid clichés, but it actually did feel as if my heart skipped a beat.
Doubtlessly, you recognize the name, too.
The rape and murder of Mary Phagan in 1913 remains of the most infamous and sensational crimes in the storied history of Atlanta, if not the state and country, and was a particularly traumatic chapter in the life of this city. The tragic story has been told in countless articles, books, movies and TV shows, Alfred Uhry’s acclaimed Broadway musical Parade, and the old folk ballad by Fiddlin’ John Carson, “Little Mary Phagan”—but the single most definitive account, by far, is And the Dead Shall Rise, written by Steve Oney and published in 2003.
Mary was barely a teenager when her abused body was discovered in the basement of the National Pencil Factory on Forsyth Street, near what today we call “The Gulch” and now home to Centennial Yards, a downtown revitalization project. She earned 10-cents an hour, working 12-hour shifts at a machine that inserted rubber erasers into the metal tips of pencils.
The pencil factory was temporarily closed due to a shortage of materials, but April 26 was Confederate Memorial Day and Mary, having taken a trolley downtown to watch the parade, stopped to collect $1.20 she was owed for one day’s work. The discovery of her body in the factory basement led to the sensational trial and conviction (wrongful, most now believe) of the factory’s Jewish superintendent Leo Frank—and two years later, in 1915, his notorious lynching in Marietta and the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan atop Stone Mountain.
Oney, who is a friend, dedicated 15 years of painstaking research—the hard, old fashioned, pre-internet kind—and his beautifully written book identifies a number of prominent citizens who took part in Frank’s lynching—which, he proves conclusively, was not a random act of mob violence, but, rather, an unsanctioned execution orchestrated at the highest levels of state government.
He also was able to get a hold of a letter written by Mary to her cousin and friend Myrtle Barmore on December 30, 1912, just a few months before her death, and quotes it very early in his book. Perhaps ironically, that correspondence also mentioned Christmas—with Mary chiding Myrtle, “I don’t know what to think of you for not coming.”
I was excited to share the “find” with Oney. If anybody knew of Mary Phagan’s letter to Santa, it would have been him—but it came as a surprise. I don’t think anybody could have known—until now.
An enormous, ever-growing repository exists online at newspapers.com—which, of course, is great—but even in the recent past, you’d have to know where, what, and when to look. The game changer is optical recognition, which allows the digitized microfilm to be searched by keyword and date.
If you type “Mary Phagan” in the search bar and leave the “date” field blank, you get 88,625 hits. Narrow the search to Georgia newspapers, and that number shrinks to 2,987. But filter those in chronological order, oldest to newest, and at the very top of the list is just a single mention of that name before 1913.
Georgia’s child labor laws were “reformed” in 1906, setting 10 as the minimum age to work in a factory—yet, the little girl’s letter to Santa establishes she was nine when it was written—and already working at Gate City Mills, a mammoth textile factory that processed cotton.
Beyond that sad fact, and mention of her father, who died before Mary was born, it isn’t a smoking gun or clue to anything—just a small but nevertheless historically significant remnant of her life—or, as Steve puts it, “the only examples we’ll ever have of Mary’s voice.”
But, last night, I came across two more!
On ancestry.com, relatives have put up two postcards to Myrtle, in Mary’s writing. One is postmarked January 29, 1910—a little more than a year after her letter to Santa was published in the Atlanta Journal and she asks, “What did Santa Claus bring you?”
I wonder what, if anything, he brought “Little Mary,” as she would come to be remembered.
It’s been on my mind, haunting me this holiday season. Did the impoverished child who left school for long hours of factory work get that doll and carriage or the tea set she wanted?
How exciting it must have been, two days before Christmas, for a poor mill worker to see her name printed in the newspaper!
Four years later, her name would appear in newspapers across the country for months to come. She is forever known and remembered.
CB Hackworth, an occasional contributor to Atlanta magazine, is a longtime journalist in both print and broadcast media. His work in television has been recognized with “about” 40 Emmy Awards as head of the investigative unit at WXIA-TV, senior producer of Action News Primetime and Closeups for WSB-TV, and a 20-year collaboration with Andrew Young on a series of nationally syndicated documentaries. However, he says that on the rare occasion his name is recognized, it is for having been a columnist and editor of the weekly newspaper Creative Loafing during the late 1980s and early 90s.
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A fire at a Chamblee apartment and retail complex displaced more than 75 people and caused a partial roof collapse, according to DeKalb County Fire Rescue.
Fire crews responded around 4:37 p.m. Sunday to the Windsor Parkview Apartments along Peachtree Boulevard after reports of a fire on the roof.
DeKalb County Fire Rescue said that crews arrived to find heavy fire coming from the roof and immediately began evacuating people from the building.
Officials said the fire quickly spread across a portion of the roof, leading to a partial collapse.
Thankfully, firefighters said most of the damage appeared to be confined to the roof area.
Many of the people living at the complex spent Monday waiting for answers about when they may be allowed back inside. Some told CBS News Atlanta they were especially worried about pets and belongings left behind during the evacuation.
“We didn’t have to evacuate, as we were both already out of the house for Mother’s Day stuff. But we still have all of our stuff up in the apartment, and we have two cats that are up there, and we’re trying to figure out what exactly the plan is to get all that out of there,” said resident Thomas Wheeler. Hours later, Wheeler and his girlfriend were reunited with their cats.
Others said the uncertainty following the fire has been frustrating.
“There’s just a lot of people around with not a ton of information. The red cross was here. We got to interact with them. It was really a great experience at the Red Cross,” said resident Macy Trego.
The fire also impacted businesses located beneath the apartments.
Some workers told CBS News Atlanta they still do not know when they may be able to return to work.
“I’ve gotta get paid. Rent is high right now,” said Jeremy Snyder, who works at one of the businesses below the apartments.
Windsor Communities released a statement Monday saying it is working with the Red Cross to help displaced tenants.
“We are deeply saddened by yesterday’s fire at Windsor Parkview Apartments, and our immediate focus is on supporting the residents and families impacted by this incident,” a Windsor Communities spokesperson said. “We are grateful to the first responders and local agencies whose swift actions helped ensure residents were safely evacuated and cared for during a very difficult situation.”
The company also said it is maintaining communication with people impacted by the fire while investigators continue working to determine the cause.
Fire officials said the fire may have started from an air conditioning unit on the roof, though the exact cause remains under investigation.
Windsor Parkview opened in 2021 as part of Chamblee’s redevelopment efforts along the Peachtree Boulevard corridor. CBS News Atlanta has also reached out to the City of Chamblee for additional information about the development’s role in the city’s broader revitalization plans.
ATLANTA – Drivers in Midtown Atlanta should prepare for traffic changes this week as a new roadwork project begins along 10th Street.
What we know:
The Atlanta Department of Watershed Management said part of 10th Street will close starting Wednesday for sewer repairs.
The construction will impact the eastbound lane between Charles Allen Drive and Monroe Drive.
Officials said the repair project is expected to continue for about four weeks.
Crews will work overnight on weekdays from 5 p.m. until 5 a.m. Construction activity will continue around the clock on weekends until the project is complete.
What you can do:
Motorists traveling through Midtown are encouraged to plan ahead and expect delays in the area during the closure.
Atlanta, GA
Three Biggest Questions Facing the Atlanta Hawks Following the NBA Draft Lottery Results
The 2026 NBA Draft has come and gone, and while the results did not go the way that the Atlanta Hawks had hoped, landing at No. 8 overall, but they are still getting a top-eight pick in a deep draft when they are coming off a season in which they won 46 games and made the playoffs. Atlanta had hoped that having the most favorable selection from the Pelicans and Bucks would turn into a top-four pick, but they are going to get a chance to add to their young core with a high-level talent.
Now that the NBA Draft Lottery is over, what are some questions facing the Hawks?
1. Who could they take with the pick?
We will get into other scenarios later, but for this exercise, let’s just assume that the Hawks are going to stick at No. 8 and make a selection.
While the top four picks are likely going to be (in some order) AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson, the rest of the draft does not seem to be as certain.
There is a popular sentiment that the quarter of guards consisting of Keaton Wagler, Darius Acuff, Kingston Flemings, and Mikel Brown Jr are going to be picks 5-8, but that is not as much of a certainity as the top four.
The Clippers are picking 5th, but they just made a big trade for Darius Garland. Brooklyn just took four guards in last year’s draft, and the Kings are always a wild card, though of these teams, they have the biggest need at guard and don’t seem likely to veer from that.
In the NBA, needs is usually ignored in the draft and the best player available is taken most of the time, but it will be interesting to see which players the Clippers, Nets, and Kings decide on.
If those teams do take three of those guards, the Hawks would have their choice of whoever is left over from that group or players such as Michigan center Aday Mara, Arizona guard Brayden Burries, or Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg.
2. Could the Hawks move up or down in the draft?
While I think as of right now that the most likely scenario is that the Hawks stay put at No. 8, they do have some interesting options to potentially move up or down depending on how things fall.
As I mentioned earlier, the Clippers just traded for Darius Garland and if the Hawks wanted to get ahead of the Kings and Nets to land the guard of their choice, they could try and put together an attractive package to try and make a trade with Los Angeles.
The Nets seem less likely to move down, but after taking four guards in last year’s draft, could they move down and try to target another position?
What about a trade down? If the Hawks had been at No. 7 or in the top four, I would say a trade down is unlikely, but at No. 8, there could be an opportunity there for Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh. Would Oklahoma City be interested in moving No. 12 and No. 17 for No. 8? That would give the Hawks three first round picks and if they like a player that could be in that range, that would be a possibility, though all of this is just hypothetical at the moment.
3. Do the Hawks attempt to move the No. 8 pick for an established star?
Saleh has been adamnat that the team is not one player away and that the Hawks wanted to add through the draft, but even in a draft as deep as this one, the odds of getting a star player at No. 8 are long.
It is tough to really gauge the trade market for this offseason right now, but the No. 8 pick is an attractive asset. Could the Hawks try to trade for Celtics star Jaylen Brown? Again, it is tough to know who else could be available this summer and I would bet against the Hawks moving this pick for a veteran player, but never say never in the NBA.
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