Life could be lonely for lighthouse keepers along the New England coast. They lived on tiny islands or spits of land, sometimes with their families, and only got supply drops about once a month or so. How could one get Christmas gifts for the family in such a situation? They didn't have to, because they could rely on Flying Santa to come through.
Seamond Ponsart Roberts first learned about Flying Santa when she was 5 years old. In October 1945, her mother, Emma, told her the jolly old fellow would deliver a doll to her by airplane. For the next three months, every time an aircraft flew over the lighthouse they called home, the excited little girl would ask, “Is that him? Is that my Flying Santa?”
Her special delivery did arrive in December in the form of a package dropped from a plane by Edward Rowe Snow of Massachusetts, a veteran recently returned from World War II who would go on to author numerous books and articles about seafaring history and traditions. His classic Storms and Shipwrecks of New England was first published in 1943 and republished several times since then. Through his writing and weekly radio show, he cemented the legacy of Flying Santa, a 90-year-old holiday tradition that continues today.
Snow was neither the first nor the last Flying Santa, or even a pilot, but he filled the role for 40 years. The tradition of Flying Santa began in 1929, and continues today. Read about Snow and the Flying Santa program at Smithsonian. You'll also find out what happened to Seamond's doll.
(Image credit: Dolly Bicknell collection)