It’s 1929 along the coast of Maine. Well-known local pilot William Wincapaw is flying a mail delivery route, and the night is dark and foggy. He has no idea where he is. Worried, he decides to fly his way home to Rockland by following the trail of lighthouses dotting the rocky coast. The ploy works and Wincapaw returns home, grateful to the lighthouse keepers for their efforts.
This fateful night begins a classic (and true) Christmas tale, which author John Galluzzo told on December 12 at the Marion Music Hall.
From the 1920s to the 1980s, Santa was very real to any child at a lighthouse, whether he arrived by plane, helicopter, boat, or car – all of which were used by “Santa of the Lighthouses” to reach his remote destinations.
“Wincapaw was so grateful to the lighthouse keepers that he started dropping them necessary items like newspapers,” Galluzzo enthused. “Think about it, you’re a lighthouse keeper on one of those little islands off the coast of Maine. You aren’t getting the paper very often. The Sunday paper is fantastic!”
According to Galluzzo, Wincapaw enjoyed delivering the gifts so much that he eventually expanded into delivering presents for the children. And thus, the “Santa of the Lighthouses” was born.
In 1929, aviation is a country-wide craze. Two years prior, Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic in the Spirit of St. Louis. Airports in every small town have been cleared for the transportation of the future. Consequently, Wincapaw has no trouble securing national sponsors when he begins compiling boxes to send to the children. Major sponsors include Gillette and Bell Seasoning.
By 1933, the Christmas route expands to 91 stops. Landing at each stop is ruled out of the question. Wincapaw experiments with ways to drop the parcels from the plane – with varying success. Parachuted gifts tear fenders off of cars, smack into an unfortunate chicken, and in one memorable instance, crash through a skylight window. (“The timing wasn’t right…”)
The family later moves to Winthrop, Massachusetts, where local schoolteacher Edward Rose Snow hears about the project and wants to help. In 1936, he splits the route with Wincapaw, and in 1938 takes the entire project over when Wincapaw is sent to Uruguay. He will remain the Santa of the Lighthouses for the next 44 years.
Rose Snow travels with a pilot, his wife Anna-Myrle (Mrs. Clause), and daughter Dolly (Santa’s Elf). All are dressed in full uniform, so that the children can see Santa leaning out the window to wave at them. Dolly is in charge of replacing Santa’s hat with a new one when the previous hat is lost to the wind.
By 1953, Rose Snow and other very generous helpers are delivering gifts to lighthouses on both coasts – they fly the East Coast in the morning, and then take off to the West Coast for the night shift. They frequently use helicopters, which make it again possible to land, deliver presents, and take off quickly. Rose Snow continues as Santa through 1980, red coat stuffed with pockets upon pockets of candy canes and small toys.
By the late 1980s, lighthouses are mostly automated, but boat stations and other landmarks have shifted into civilian caretaker hands. The Santa of the Lighthouses still flies today, thanks to generous volunteering by Coast Guard members.
The story is a wonderful part of the Christmas season, and the nonprofit Friends of Flying Santa continues to maintain his legacy. Galluzzo says happily, “It gets you in the spirit of Christmas, doesn’t it?”
By Andrea Ray
The flights today are continued by Friends of Flying Santa, a nonprofit organization. More than 1000 children of Coast Guard families are visited during the flights. For more information, see http://www.flyingsanta.com.