Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of
Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all
Speaker 1: of these amazing tales right there on display, just waiting
Speaker 1: for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.
Speaker 1: The man we all know today, the one who slides
Speaker 1: down our chimneys every December twenty fifth and leaves presence
Speaker 1: under our trees, is something of a historical Frankenstein, sorry,
Speaker 1: Frankenstein's monster. In fourth century Greece, for example, there was
Speaker 1: a Christian bishop named Saint Nicholas, who often gave gifts
Speaker 1: to the poor. After his death, people in the Middle
Speaker 1: Ages would give presents to children during December as a
Speaker 1: way to honor him. Over time, other cultures started to
Speaker 1: develop their own similar figures. England had Father Christmas, the
Speaker 1: Dutch had Center Claus, and the Germans had Wodin, a
Speaker 1: bearded figure most commonly known as the God Odin. But
Speaker 1: in America, as well as many other places around the world,
Speaker 1: we have Santa Claus. His fluffy white beard and big
Speaker 1: red suit are iconic, but many people don't know that
Speaker 1: at one time, Santa Claus really existed and he came
Speaker 1: from Missouri. It was April fourth of eighteen eighty eight,
Speaker 1: and William and Henrietta Clause of Sailine County, Missouri, were
Speaker 1: a static. They'd just given birth to a bouncing baby boy.
Speaker 1: But when it came time to fill out his birth certificate,
Speaker 1: they could only think of one name that would fit
Speaker 1: their surname, Santa. That's right, Santa Claus had just entered
Speaker 1: the world. Now. Of course, someone named after a figure
Speaker 1: of joy and goodwill should have inspired the same in
Speaker 1: people he met growing up, but kids can often be cruel.
Speaker 1: Clause was picked on a lot as a child because
Speaker 1: of his name, no doubt, earning his tormentors a spot
Speaker 1: on the Naughty List. But he didn't grow up to
Speaker 1: run a workshop full of elves or steer a sleigh
Speaker 1: driven by eight magical reindeer. Clause grew up to be
Speaker 1: a family man and a ditch digger. You see, life
Speaker 1: got expensive with seven kids and a wife at home,
Speaker 1: so he worked several jobs to get by. Among them,
Speaker 1: he worked part time as a minister as well as
Speaker 1: a laborer along the Missouri River, but in nineteen twenty nine,
Speaker 1: everything changed. One day, he'd been working on the river
Speaker 1: when he suffered an accident and broke his leg. He
Speaker 1: was rushed to the hospital, where his name caused quite
Speaker 1: a stir because honestly, it isn't every day that Santa
Speaker 1: Claus ends up in the er. Right. Newspapers got wind
Speaker 1: of the story and published articles about Clause, who was
Speaker 1: in dire need of a pick me up. After all,
Speaker 1: the sole breadwinner for his large family was now out
Speaker 1: of work. And so the children who heard about the
Speaker 1: accident did what they did best when it came to
Speaker 1: Santa Claus. They wrote him letters. Soon, thousands of letters
Speaker 1: from all over started to pour in. The recuperating Clause
Speaker 1: finally embraced his identity and started answering the letters. And
Speaker 1: it became more than a hobby too, This was a calling.
Speaker 1: He grew out his beard and worked for months writing
Speaker 1: back to every single child. That meant responding to at
Speaker 1: least six thousand letters each year. And remember, Santa Claus
Speaker 1: was poor. He didn't have much money to spend on
Speaker 1: things like paper and postage. For those items, he relied
Speaker 1: on donations from his town's Chamber of Commerce. Everyday Americans
Speaker 1: looking to help, and even movie star May West. She
Speaker 1: sent him two hundred and fifty dollars to spend on stamps.
Speaker 1: But not everything was rosy cheeked for dear old mister Clause.
Speaker 1: While his name may have encouraged young children to believe
Speaker 1: in Christmas magic, it also caused him problems in his
Speaker 1: daily life. Banks often turned him away because they didn't
Speaker 1: believe that his identity was real. Some people thought that
Speaker 1: he was mentally ill, and even the post Office wouldn't
Speaker 1: deliver the occasional package to him because they didn't believe
Speaker 1: Santa Claus really existed. But he did did, and he
Speaker 1: continued to answer letters from children for the next thirty
Speaker 1: years using his real name. After his wife died in
Speaker 1: nineteen forty four, he remarried four years later, and the
Speaker 1: new Missus Claus filled her role perfectly. She assisted Santo
Speaker 1: with his letters as he slowly became ill. On April
Speaker 1: first of nineteen fifty seven, Clause passed away, three days
Speaker 1: shy of his sixty ninth birthday. The world may have
Speaker 1: lost Santa Claus the Man, but thanks to his dedication
Speaker 1: to thousands of children who wrote to him, the spirit
Speaker 1: of Christmas that he embodied still lives on today. Many
Speaker 1: jobs can seem thankless. The restaurant cook making your food,
Speaker 1: or the mechanic fixing your car are all people that
Speaker 1: we interact with all the time, but we rarely show
Speaker 1: gratitude for the services they provide, and the same goes
Speaker 1: for teachers, farmers, and even stay at home spouses. But
Speaker 1: perhaps one of the most unfairly thankless jobs in any
Speaker 1: industry is that of the lighthouse keeper. Lighthouses signal to
Speaker 1: ships using bright lights and loud horns that there are
Speaker 1: shallows in rocky shores nearby, and they don't just warn
Speaker 1: captains of dangers ahead either. They also help ships navigate
Speaker 1: in and out of harbors safely. But they wouldn't be
Speaker 1: able to do any of that without help from the
Speaker 1: people responsible for their care and maintenance, the lighthouse keepers.
Speaker 1: A lighthouse keeper does more than just light the lamp.
Speaker 1: They have to fill the lamp with kerosene each day,
Speaker 1: trim the wicks to prevent smoking, clean the lens and
Speaker 1: windows so the light shines brightly, perform basic repairs, and
Speaker 1: even act as tour guides for visitors. A lighthouse keeper's
Speaker 1: job is so important. It goes on twenty four to seven,
Speaker 1: with no sick time and no days off, and because
Speaker 1: they have to live in the lighthouses at all times,
Speaker 1: it can get pretty lonely, especially around Christmas. Edward Snow
Speaker 1: so as Well. Born in nineteen oh two, Snow grew
Speaker 1: up in Winthrop, Massachusetts, near the shores of Boston Harbor.
Speaker 1: He came from a nautical family. His grandfather was a
Speaker 1: sea captain for much of his life, and his mother
Speaker 1: accompanied him on many voyages. Even Snow got in on
Speaker 1: the act. After graduating high school. He spent nine years
Speaker 1: on various ships and oil tankers, learning all that he
Speaker 1: could about life on the high seas. He wrote forty
Speaker 1: books about his travels, one of which became a common
Speaker 1: sight in many East Coast homes. It was titled The
Speaker 1: Lighthouses of New England. But after seeing the world for
Speaker 1: all that time, Snow decided to settle down. He enrolled
Speaker 1: at Harvard at the age of twenty seven and accelerated
Speaker 1: through his courses, graduating after only three years. One month
Speaker 1: after earning his diploma, he married Anna Merle Hague, a
Speaker 1: woman that he met during a trip to Montana. Together
Speaker 1: they moved back to Massachusetts and built a life there.
Speaker 1: Snow took up teaching at Winthrop High School, and it
Speaker 1: was there that he met a young man named Bill Winkop.
Speaker 1: Bill was a student whose father did something nice for
Speaker 1: the lighthouse keepers and their families every Christmas. He flew
Speaker 1: overhead and dropped presents from above. He was dubbed the
Speaker 1: Flying Santa. Snow was only too happy to help, especially
Speaker 1: as Bill's father included more lighthouses each year. Even Bill
Speaker 1: himself had to pitch in. He was the youngest licensed
Speaker 1: pilots in the state at only sixteen years old. So
Speaker 1: mister Winkepaw would fly his plane north while Edward and
Speaker 1: Bill Junior would fly along the southern New England coast
Speaker 1: dropping presents down to lighthouse keepers below. After several years, however,
Speaker 1: the Winkapaus could no longer perform their yearly task. Who
Speaker 1: would step up and become Flying Santa Now? Why Edward Snow.
Speaker 1: Of course, Snow couldn't fly his own plane, though, so
Speaker 1: he and his family would charter a plane loaded up
Speaker 1: with dolls and toys and copies of his books, and
Speaker 1: do the whole route themselves. He even put on a
Speaker 1: red Santa suit and fake beard for those occasions. After
Speaker 1: his daughter was born, she he went with them. Every
Speaker 1: flight was an experience she described as bumpy, rough and scary.
Speaker 1: Snow didn't take any money or donations to finance these trips.
Speaker 1: Everything was paid for out of his own pocket, and
Speaker 1: when the plane had to refuel he would come out
Speaker 1: and meet with the lighthouse keepers and their families. It
Speaker 1: was in their smiles and gratitude that he saw how
Speaker 1: important his yearly pilgrimage was to them, especially to the children.
Speaker 1: Snow died in nineteen eighty two and only missed a
Speaker 1: single Christmas flight in the forty five years that he
Speaker 1: delivered presents. His one off year was nineteen forty two,
Speaker 1: wild World War two was happening, so you know, a
Speaker 1: very valid excuse. Today, his legacy lives on thanks to
Speaker 1: the friends of Flying Santa, who fly helicopters to lighthouses
Speaker 1: all over New England. They continue the tradition started by
Speaker 1: the Winkipause and Edward Snow, delivering joy and Christmas cheer
Speaker 1: to the men and women who keep the harbors lit
Speaker 1: all year round. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour
Speaker 1: of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast
Speaker 1: dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Mankey
Speaker 1: in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award
Speaker 1: winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series,
Speaker 1: and television show, and you can learn all about it
Speaker 1: over at the Worldoflore dot com. And until next time,
Speaker 1: stay curious.