(Friends of Flying Santa)
The Flying Santa tradition goes back to December 25, 1929, when a floatplane pilot, William Wincapaw of Friendship, Maine, loaded his plane with a dozen packages. He flew to lighthouses around the Midcoast Maine area and dropped the modest gifts for lighthouse families as a way of showing his appreciation for the work they were doing. In the mid-1930s, Edward Rowe Snow, a schoolteacher, maritime historian, and author in Winthrop, Massachusetts, became involved in the flights. Snow would eventually become the sole Flying Santa, and he kept the flights going through 1980, flying to as many as 176 lighthouses.
The Hull Lifesaving Museum on Boston’s South Shore kept the tradition alive for a while, and then the Friends of Flying Santa was formed as a separate nonprofit organization in 1997. The Friends’ mission remains dedicated to Captain William Wincapaw and Edward Rowe Snow’s philosophy that lighthouse keepers and Coast Guard crews were true lifesavers and deserved to be recognized for their efforts.
Friends of Flying Santa strives to continue this tradition of appreciation by carrying on the annual Christmas helicopter flights to lighthouses and Coast Guard stations. Today’s 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.
Brian Tague has been involved with the Flying Santa program since the late 1980s, and he serves as the president of Friends of Flying Santa. Brian is also an accomplished photographer who specializes in wildlife, aerials, and scenic work.
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U.S. Lighthouse Society Historian Jeremy D’Entremont is the author of 24 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history. He is a past president of the American Lighthouse Foundation and founder of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses, and he has lectured and narrated cruises throughout the Northeast and in other regions. He is also the producer and host of the U.S. Lighthouse Society’s weekly podcast, “Light Hearted.” He can be emailed at Jeremy@uslhs.org
Love y’all!
I was one of the little ones on Pond and Seguin Island, Maine back in 1960/61. I decorate one of my Christmas trees with many little lighthouse and I went and got a little plane with a Santa piloting so I would always remember and be able to share my story.
Thank you!
T’Ann Howard Naugle
Thank you for your comment! What a great memory to have, and what a great thing that your family was part of American lighthouse history.