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Flying Santa expands schedule
After an absence of seven years the Flying Santa will return to Maine lighthouses this year. With the help of Fisher Scientific of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, who will be flying Santa in their company helicopter, Santa will be visiting the Maine lighthouses at Portland Head, Pemaquid, Marshall Point, Browns Head, and Dice's Head.
The weekend of December 15, the Flying Santa is scheduled to visit 25 lighthouses in five states.
The Flying Santa idea came about in 1927 when Capt. William Wincapaw, flying a mail and passenger run over the coast of Maine got lost in a blinding snowstorm. The beams of the lighthouses guided him along the coast and to safety. A few days later, he loaded his plane with gifts and retraced his course, dropping gift packages on the lawns of the lighthouses that had guided him to safety.
The story was picked up by newspapers around the world and with a host of sponsors, Wincapaw was soon flying to 117 lighthouses every Christmas. In 1936, Wincapaw accepted a contract to fly gold out of the mountains of Bolivia, and the position of Flying Santa was taken over by Edward Rowe Snow.
Snow was popular with the lighthouse keepers and the general public who bought his New England books as fast as he could write them. In 1981, after 43 years as the Flying Santa, Snow suffered a stroke and the Flying Santa program was taken over by the Hull Life Saving Museum.
With automation the Flying Santa program was nearly lost. However, thanks to many dedicated volunteers, the program survives. The current Flying Santa, George Morgan, who really looks like Santa, will visit lighthouses that have either caretakers or Coast Guard personnel living at the Keepers Quarters.
To learn more about the history of the Flying Santa program, Lighthouse Depot has a video available, "The Flying Santa" which retails for $24.95 plus shipping. It can be ordered by calling 1-800-758-1444.
Since the program is operated by volunteers, donations are graciously accepted by sending them to: The Flying Santa, George Morgan, 791 Nantasket Ave., Hull, MA 02045.
This story appeared in the November 1995 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
All contents copyright © 1995 - 2004 by Lighthouse Digest®, Inc. No story, photograph, or any other item on this website may be reprinted or reproduced without the express permission of Lighthouse Digest. For contact information, click here.
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