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Save
Our Lights!
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American Lighthouse Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 565
Rockland,
Maine 04841
Phone: 207-594-4174
info@lighthousefoundation.org
The American Lighthouse Foundation is a
Non-Profit 501(c)(3) Organization dedicated to the preservation of America's historic lighthouses.
SEARCH ALF WEB
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Flying Santa Visits Portsmouth Harbor
By Jeremy D’Entremont
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| One of the great traditions of our region
is the annual Christmastime flight of the Flying Santa to New England
lighthouses and Coast Guard stations. This gesture of gratitude began
back in 1929, when pilot Bill Wincapaw dropped Christmas presents for
lightkeeping families in Maine’s Penobscot Bay region. The flights
continue |
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
A child greets the Flying Santa at
USCG
Station Portsmouth on December 8, 2006
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today by
helicopter, coordinated by the nonprofit Friends of Flying Santa, primarily
as a way of saying “thank you” to Coast Guard families.
Coast Guard Station Portsmouth Harbor in New Castle, New Hampshire, is a
regular stop for the Flying Santa. It fits right in with the tradition, as
the station is home to Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse. As co-chairman of the
Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse and as vice president of the Friends
of Flying Santa, I’ve been privileged to be present for Santa’s last few
visits to the station.
The visit of Flying Santa before Christmas 2004 was especially memorable.
Bill Wincapaw III flew along that year. At Station Portsmouth |
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Flying Santa prepares to hand out
gifts
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Harbor, he met
Connie Small, the 103-year-old wife of the last keeper of Portsmouth
Harbor Light. Connie fondly recalled the first Flying Santa, Bill’s
grandfather. It was a special moment that I’ll never forget.
This year, CWO
Tom Guthlein of the Coast Guard filled the role of Santa in jolly
fashion for |
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the flight to New Hampshire and Maine. Santa and his helpers put in a long,
grueling day, as they continued to various stops up the coast all the way to
Jonesport, Maine.
In 1988, I interviewed a Coast Guard lightkeeper who told me, “Many of those
families at isolated lighthouses wouldn’t have had a Christmas if it wasn’t
for the Flying Santa.” Some thought the Flying Santa flights might die out
in the 1980s, when the last of our lighthouses were being automated. But for
anyone who thinks the lack of lighthouse keepers |
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means the
tradition should end, I can report that the kids on the receiving end of
Santa’s visits and gifts are just as excited as ever. This is a big
event for these families, many of whom are far from home. At a number of
the stops, Christmas parties are held with Santa’s arrival by helicopter
a highlight.
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Children and their parents gather
for a group photo before Flying Santa departs
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I urge everyone to pause and reflect on all the Coast Guard does for us,
from maritime safety and security to protection of natural resources and
maintenance of our aids to navigation. And please consider saying thanks by
making a donation to Friends of Flying Santa or to the Coast Guard
Foundation, a nonprofit that supports Coast Guard families.
For more on the Friends of Flying Santa, see
www.flyingsanta.org.
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse
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Posted: 3/18/07 |
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