Most of my Christmases have become hopelessly blurred together, but Christmas 1969 holds a special place in my heart.

In fact, back in 1998 my very first yuletide column took a whimsically nostalgic look at that holiday.

But as the 50th anniversary of Christmas 1969 approaches, I feel compelled to write something with more gravitas.

There were two main things I implored Santa for that year. One was a selection of toys from a yellowing 1927 Montgomery Ward catalog that my mother the collector had pi...