The Christmas holiday season
is my favorite time of the year. When the Christmas spirit somehow
is combined with a love of lighthouses you can bet I am all in. The
story of Edward Rowe Snow combines all of the best of people during
the Holidays with the history and majesty of the iconic beacons that
watch over the waters of the world. Why is Edward Rowe Snow so
fondly remembered? He was for more than four decades also known as
the 'Flying Santa.' Here is his story.
Edward Rowe Snow was born in
Winthrop, Massachusetts on August 22, 1902. He was of above average
intelligence from the start, graduating high school in Helena,
Montana at the age of sixteen. However rather than pursue academics
Snow decided to take a walk in his family's footsteps. He came from a line of sea captains all the way to the
American Revolution. Snow's father had been a captain and his
mother's colorful tales of life aboard the ships swayed him. Snow
spent nine years traveling the world working on ships and even trying
his hand as a Hollywood extra.
Incredibly when he decided to
go back and finish his education he did that with the same ease as in
high school. Snow enrolled at Harvard University in 1929 and flew
through a curriculum concentrating on history in three years of
summer sessions. After graduating in the Class of 1932 Edward
continued on eventually getting his Master's Degree in Arts from
Boston University. He married Anna-Myrle Haegg in 1932 and it seemed
as though Snow was settling down. He took a job as a history teacher
at Winthrop High School in 1933 where he also coached track,
football, and basketball.
It was during this teaching
tenure that Snow's greatest claim to fame was begun. His student
Bill Wincapaw introduced Snow to his father Captain William Wincapaw. The father and son had been dropping off Christmas gifts via airplane to New England islands and lighthouses since 1929. They had been dubbed the 'Flying
Santa.' The trips grew in size annually as more people heard of the
generous venture and wanted to be involved. Eventually the Wincapaws
needed help.
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| Flying Santa.com |
In 1936 Snow did his first
run alongside the younger Wincapaw. It was a perfect fit as Snow
already enjoyed flying, though himself not a pilot, and taking aerial
photos of lighthouses. Now he was able to spread Christmas cheer to
those in remote areas at the same time. These trips usually included
areas all over New England and would sometimes go as far as
California, Florida, and easternmost Canada.
Snow enlisted in the Air
Force at the outbreak of World War II. Though he was wounded during the North African campaign in 1942. However his love of flying could not be curbed. When
discharged from the service Snow took over the duties as 'Flying
Santa' from the Wincapaws as they had other obligations which
precluded them from doing it. Snow brought his wife Anna-Myrle along
to help with the deliveries as by 1947 he was visiting as many as 176
lighthouses during the Holiday season.
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| Snow's first book published in 1935 |
So how was this project
accomplished? First off Snow flew in small planes like Cesnas,
Pipers, Constellations, and Seabees. These were flown at altitudes
that would be seen as illegal today. This was sacrificing the speed
of flight for the accuracy of the delivery. The plane would
typically make three passes around a lighthouse. Once to signal he
was there, once to drop goods down (usually small things like a
child's doll, candy, and perhaps a copy of his latest book), and a
final time to make sure the drop had gone off well. The true measure
of Edward Rowe Snow was that the gifts, as well as the cost to rent
the plane, all came from his own pocket.
The deliveries from the
Flying Santa meant so much to the families of the lighthouse keepers.
Being a major historian Snow would sometimes return to the
lighthouses to record the stories of the keepers. His love of
history, his lifetime of adventures, and his mastery of the written
word melded together and made him an enthralling storyteller. This
led Snow to leave teaching to become a full-time author and lecturer
by the end of the 1940's.
Edward Rowe Snow was no
amateur. His first book, based on his college thesis, was released
in 1935. He had great interest in Boston Harbor and its islands. It
was on boating trips out on the water of the harbor that he found countless
artifacts like coins and discovered shipwrecks. In
his lifetime Snow wrote more than 90 books,
many showcasing New England's bountiful history. He parlayed that
experience into a job writing for the Patriot Ledger newspaper in
Quincy from 1957-1982.
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| Snow in later years (FindAGrave.com) |
As he grew older Snow's story
and achievements were recognized and appreciated. In 1972 he
received an honorary doctorate. The degree, from Nasson College in
Springvale, Maine, was the Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.
His love of the islands of Boston Harbor led to Snow using his
influence to save George's Island from becoming a hazardous waste
dump. Today the 53-acre
island, home to Civil War-era Fort Warren, along with the other 33
islands of Boston Harbor, is a National and State Park.
Though it is hard to pin down
one thing Edward Rowe Snow was mainly known for his years as the
Flying Santa made him nationally known. He continued the tradition
begun by Captain Wincapaw until a stroke on July 24,
1981 left him unable to perform his beloved duties. That Christmas
the Flying Santa baton was passed to Hull, Massachusetts resident Ed
McCabe. The Santa suit was formally presented to McCabe by Snow's
wife and daughter as a symbolic passing of the torch. The tradition
still continues to this day.
Edward Rowe Snow battled
illness in his remaining months and never fully recovered from his
stroke. He died at University Hospital in Boston on April 10, 1982 at the age of 79. He was buried on a knoll in the hills of Marshfield overlooking the ocean. In addition to being memorialized all across
New England and beyond Snow is celebrated with a day in his honor
every year in August on George's Island.
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| A memorial to Edward Rowe Snow on George's Island (Wikimedia) |
Though not the originator,
and not the only one to do it, Snow's more than four decades as the
Flying Santa helped give him almost a mythical quality when combined
with his treasure hunting, writing, and storytelling. He helped keep
the magic of Christmas alive for many over the years even if he never
flew over their heads. Edward Rowe Snow captured the hearts and
minds of those he came in contact with and his memory is still strong
in these parts nearly 40 years after his passing.
Read more on the history of the Flying Santa here.
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