Have you heard of The Flying Santa flights that have continued uninterrupted for 94 years? They started on Christmas Day 1929 in a floatplane built by Travel Air, the airplane manufacturer started in 1925 by Walter Beech, Clyde Cessna and Lloyd Stearman.
Early aviation pioneer William Wincapaw loved flying, especially amphibious airplanes that were practical for navigating the numerous islands in Penobscot Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Maine and Atlantic Ocean in south central Maine. In 1929, Capt. Wincapaw was managing the Curtiss Flying Service at Rockland airfield and a nearby seaplane base while flying mail, medicine and supplies to remote coastal communities in a Travel Air A-6000-A outfitted with floats. Known for an adventurous spirit and his willingness to fly in less-than-ideal conditions, he was often asked to provide transportation for sick or injured islanders. He appreciated the lighthouse keepers whose tireless efforts helped keep him safe along the way by providing navigation along the coast. When he had time, he returned to the lighthouses to visit with the keepers and their families, whose lives were often thankless and lonely while living on an isolated island. He wanted to do even more to show his appreciation, and on Dec. 25, 1929, he loaded his plane with a dozen packages containing newspapers, magazines, coffee, candy and other items. He took off and one-by-one, he dropped the packages to the lighthouse keepers.
The flight was an instant success and continued to expand each year to more lighthouse families and Coast Guard stations in Maine, plus Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The communities started to call Capt. Wincapaw The Flying Santa and Santa of the Lighthouses, and he began to dress for the role, with a suit and beard. Eventually, he was joined by his son Bill, Jr., an aspiring pilot who first flew routes with his father and then took on his own routes.
Each year the program expanded to new locations and more help in the way of pilots, organizers and sponsors to help offset the costs of the growing program were needed. By 1933, the Christmas flights visited 91 lighthouses and Coast Guard stations from the Wincapaw’s new home base in Winthrop, Massachusetts. In 1938, Bill, Jr., was in charge because his father couldn’t make it home from flying gold and mining machinery in South America. One of the earliest non-related organizers to help the effort was Edward Rowe Snow, one of Bill Jr.’s teachers at Winthrop High School. Snow would go on to play a pivotal role, taking over The Flying Santa mission after Capt. Wincapaw’s passing in 1947, and in the 1970s he would guide the program into its helicopter era that better aligned with emerging flight restrictions.
Snow carried on the tradition for more than four decades, and when he passed in 1982 the Hull Lifesaving Museum stepped up to coordinate the flights. The 1980s saw the era of lighthouse keepers coming to an end, the boat stations remaining and many of the lights continuing to be used for Coast Guard housing. Guardianship of some of the structures transferred to civilian organizations and caretakers. Organizers decided that as long as there were personnel connected to the lights, the Flying Santa would make the Yuletide visits. In 1997, Friends of Flying Santa, Inc. formed to keep alive the tradition of the annual Christmas flights to New England’s lighthouses and lifesaving stations. Thousands of hours are volunteered each year to ensure the success of the flights which now encompass more than 30 stops including 61 Coast Guard units from Maine to New York. The helicopter visits and gifts for the children are small tokens of appreciation for the outstanding work of the United States Coast Guard and their supportive families.
Adapted from flyingsanta.org
Through fundraising and public outreach, Friends of Flying Santa strives to continue the annual Christmas flights — now with helicopters — and carry on this gesture of gratitude to the men, women and families who watch over our coastal waters. The mission remains dedicated to Captain William Wincapaw and Edward Rowe Snow’s philosophy that lighthouse keepers and United States Coast Guard crews were true lifesavers and deserved to be recognized for their efforts. As long as there are boat station crews, aids to navigation teams and other units serving to keep the waters safe, Friends of Flying Santa will do its part to remind them of how much their work is appreciated.
If you are a fan of lighthouses, maritime and aviation history, or just wish to show your appreciation for the work and dedication of the U.S. Coast Guard, support the Friends of Flying Santa and become a part of a great New England holiday tradition. Find information on donating at flyingsanta.org.