NORAD REPORT: Our radar is presently tracking one hundred twenty-five square miles. We’re picking up some snow and the usual amount of air traffic as folks hurry home for the holidays. Well,  I’m sad to report there’s still no activity from the North Pole. Santa has never been this far off schedule.

Jasmyn Morris (JM): What you’re hearing is an official military broadcast from NORAD… the North American Aerospace Defense Command. 

Michael Garofalo (MG): NORAD monitors airspace to prevent attacks against North America. They look for things like incoming aircraft, or intercontinental ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads… 

JM: No big deal.

MG: Yeah. But since Christmas Eve 1955… they’ve ALSO been using those same radar systems to track the progress of something else flying through the air… Santa Claus.

NORAD REPORT: Our  Many here are saying that Santa may not come this year because not enough little boys and girls were good. Now this is all speculation on our part, but there seems to be no other adequate explanation at this time. 

JM: Millions of people all over the world tune in to Norad’s Santa Tracker every year. And the broadcast we’re hearing is from the 80s. So imagine being a kid and hearing this. 

MG: I would be freaking out.

NORAD REPORT: OurI’ll be back with one more report, but if at that point there’s still no activity, then I’m afraid we’re just gonna have to shut down the screens and postpone Christmas this year. Do stay with us for continuous updates of the flight of Santa Claus.

JM: So much of the fun of the holiday season is built on anticipation… knowing those boxes of ornaments are coming out from storage… and that those once-a-year sugar cookies are getting baked.

MG: It’s easy to take those traditions, and what they mean to us for granted. Sometimes it’s the specter of disappointment… that can make us really appreciate what we do or do not have.

NORAD REPORT: OurThe word is still no go here at NORAD command. We have checked and rechecked our tracking screens and get only negative readings from the North Pole. I hate to bring you and all your good listeners the bad news, but it doesn’t appear Santa… 

Just a minute. We have a sighting… 

<MUSIC>

(Crowd Cheers) …at zero niner zero latitude. Santa track has confirmed departure at eight point three hundred hours North Pole time. A sleigh and eight reindeer. Now we’re getting visual confirmation, Santa is on his way, ready to spread his love and goodwill to all the people of the world. (Crowd Cheers)

JM: This is the StoryCorps podcast from NPR. I’m Jasmyn Morris.

MG: And I’m Michael Garofalo. Welcome to our merry little holiday special.

<MUSIC POST AND OUT>

JM: So the story of how NORAD started tracking Santa… is its own kind of Christmas miracle.

Back in December of 1955, Colonel Harry Shoup was the commanding officer at what’s now known as NORAD. And he was a big deal. He was a decorated soldier having fought in WW2 and Korea, and would later serve in Vietnam. 

MG: But that December night… a misprint in a local newspaper led Shoup and his team to focus their watch… on activity originating from the North Pole. 

Now let’s hear from his kids… Rick, Pam and Terri…

Terri Van Keuren (TV): I remember two phones on his desk. One was this red phone. Only a four-star general at the Pentagon and my dad had the number.

Richard Shoup (RS): This was the fifties, this was the Cold War, and he would have been the first one to know if there was an attack on the United States.

Pamela Farrell (PF): So first couple of weeks of December in 1955, dad was at the office and the red phone rang. He answered it, ”This is Colonel Shoup.” And then there was a small voice that just asked, ”Is this Santa Claus?”

RS: Dad was very strait-laced, very disciplined.

TV: He was annoyed.

PF: He was upset.

RS: He thought it was a joke.

TV: Yeah, and so now the little voice was crying.  [Laughs]

PF: And dad realized that it wasn’t a joke. So he talked to him, ‘ho ho ho’ed and asked if he had been a good boy and, ”May I talk to your mother?” And the mother got on and said, ”You haven’t seen the paper yet? There’s a phone number to call Santa. It’s in the Sears ad.” 

Dad looked it up, and there it was, his red-phone number. And they had children calling one after another, so he put a couple of airmen on the phones to act like Santa Claus.

TV: It got to be a big joke at the command center, you know, ”The old man’s really flipped his lid this time. We’re answering Santa calls.”

PF: The airmen had this big glass board with the United States on it and Canada, and when airplanes would come in, they would track them.

RS: And Christmas Eve of 1955, when dad walked in, there was a drawing of a sleigh with eight reindeer coming over the North Pole.

TV: Dad said, ”What is that?” They says, ”Colonel, we’re sorry. We were just making a joke. Do you want us to take that down?” Dad looked at it for a while and next thing you know, dad had called the radio station, and had said, ”This is the commander at the Combat Alert Center and we have an unidentified flying object. Why, it looks like a sleigh. [Laughs] 

Well, the radio stations would call him like every hour and say, ”Where’s Santa now?”

And later in life he got letters from all over the world. People saying ”Thank you, Colonel, 

for having, you know, this sense of humor.” And in his nineties, he would carry those letters around with him in a briefcase that had a lock on it like it was top secret information.

You know, he was an important guy, but this is the thing he’s known for.

RS: Yeah, it’s probably the thing he was proudest of too. [Laughs]

TV: Oh, I’m sure it was.

PF: Right.

TV: Yes.

<MUSIC>

JM: Siblings Terri Van Keuren, Pamela Farrell and Richard Shoup. They remembered their dad, Colonel Harry Shoup, also known as The Santa Colonel… at StoryCorps in Castle Rock, Colorado.

MG: Now, whenever we share this story around the holidays… we get tons of comments from listeners. Here are a few of them. 

VOICE #1: I grew up overseas–mainly in the Middle East. Armed Forces radio always reported Santa’s whereabouts from NORAD; and my friends and I looked forward to listening every Christmas Eve. My parents would let me stay up and listen until Santa’s sleigh was one country away from us… then off to bed! I’m so glad your father took pride in starting this tradition because he helped provide so much happiness to so many kids. 

<MUSIC POST>

VOICE #2:I was working in a sporting goods store in Colorado Springs in the early 2000’s, and Col. Shoup came in and told me this story while he was shopping. It stuck with me as an example of a person who made a choice to have fun and be kind solely for the sake of kindness. He was so happy retelling the story, even though I’m sure he’d told it a million times.

<MUSIC POST>

VOICE #3: My father worked with Col. Shoup in Colorado when I was young. And one year, my dad took my sister and me to see the board where they tracked Santa. There he was Santa with his reindeers, and he was heading for Colorado! It was one of the best Christmas memories I have. Thanks Col. Shoup!

<MUSIC POST>

JM: These days, you can track Santa on the internet…at norad santa DOT org.

<MUSIC OUT>

Kid: We should take a piece of paper and put it on the door, and it should say, “Christmas room in this door.” 

(Door Opens)

JM: Wow. Look at this Christmas-y room. 

Kid: It’s my bedroom, just to let you know. 

MG: So Jasmyn, I recently asked you what you guys do at your house for Christmas, and you responded with this recording.

JM: (Laughs) Yeah. This is me taking a tour of my daughter’s bedroom. She’s five and absolutely OBSESSED with Christmas.

JM: And what are these on your wall? 

Kid: Christmas drawings. 

JM: We’ve got…

Kid: A hat, reindeer, a snowman, a star…. <FADING OUT>

 [two wreaths, a snowflake, a Christmas tree, lights, a snowman, Santa. ]

JM: And that list goes on, and on… and on…

JM: Oh, what’s that?

Kid: It’s a Christmas radio. 

 

TOY RADIO: You are listening to ENN or Elf News Network. Blizzard Bob Reporting live from the front steps of Santa’s workshop. (Click)

Kid: (Hums along with Christmas song) <FADES UNDER>

JM: She’s even got her own Christmas tree. This is in addition to the one in our living room.

JM: When did we put the tree in here? Was it summertime? 

Kid: I think so. 

JM: (Laughs) You wanna turn your tree on? 

Kid: Yes. Some lights. Christmas is the best holiday. The best part of it is actually not the presents. 

JM: Really? 

Kid: Being together. 

<MUSIC – Peanutty Holiday APM>

JM: Oh. You are so sweet. You’re absolutely right about that.

MG: That brings us really nicely to our next story. It’s an old story from the archive. 

Back in 2005… Marie DeSantis came to StoryCorps with her grandson Mark Hayes. 

Mark Hayes: The reason we are here today is because there’s a story that’s been in our family for some time, and I wanted to preserve it for future generations.

MG: This story happened during WWII… Marie was a teenager growing up in Staten Island… and one Christmas her family got an unexpected letter from overseas.  

Marie DeSantis: In 1944 my brother Joe was in the service, of course, he was fighting in Germany. And a telegram came saying that he was missing in action. 

And so I was afraid to tell my parents and I ran to get my three sisters who were at church and I said, ”You have to come home. Mama and Papa need you.” 

We were so upset my sister, instead of getting in the car, she ran home, ran all the way home alongside the car. It was the worst news you could get. 

It was getting closer to Christmas and my mother says, ”We won’t be able to have a Christmas tree this year because Joey’s not here. We don’t know if he’s alive. We don’t know anything. So we’re going to not have a Christmas tree.” 

And then Christmas Eve, a letter came from Joey:

I’m in a hospital. I’m alright. I’ll come home soon, and by now you must be putting up the Christmas tree. 

And my mother says, ”Oh he is telling us to decorate the tree.” 

And my brother John, he says, ”Mom guess what? Last night when I came home from work, I got a Christmas tree, and I put it under the porch because I thought maybe you would change your mind and we could have the Christmas tree.” 

So we put it up and we decorated it, ”This one’s for you Joe.” 

And it turned out nice.

<MUSIC> 

Mark Hayes:  I’m Mark Hayes, and in 2005, as part of a Christmas present to my grandmother, I took her to the StoryCorps booth in Grand Central Terminal to tell this story. 

My grandmother passed away in 2016, and then, while we were making arrangements for her funeral, we found this obituary that she had written for herself – her life in her own words. And one of the things featured most prominently was how I took her to the Story Corps booth, and it clearly meant a lot to her. 

Since my grandmother passed away, I had a daughter. And my daughter’s middle name is Marie, named after her. Christmas is still a big deal in our family. We still go to my parents’ house every year to help them put up a Christmas tree and decorate.

And we have a tradition where we put pictures of our deceased relatives in ornaments to hang on the tree. And now since my grandmother has passed, we have a picture of her on the tree. 

And coincidentally or not, her picture is the biggest one out of all the family members, front and center on the Christmas tree.

<MUSIC POST>

JM: Mark hasn’t shared his grandmother’s story with his daughter yet… but he plans to this year. 

<MUSIC OUT>

MG: When it comes to Christmas traditions… we’ve gotta talk about the gifts, right? But… in this next story… it’s not just about what you get… but realizing what you already have.

In December of 2001… Thompson Williams and his wife, Rhonda, were raising their three kids: AuNane, Ki and Hay-nah.

JM: Thompson was working at a school in Oklahoma… teaching students with special needs… and his wife was selling handmade Christmas ornaments…But… as Thompson told his son Ki… that Christmas was looking like a lean one. 

Thompson Williams: That year we used all our money just before Christmas so that we could pay the bills and buy groceries — at least we’d have something to eat.

I’d been offered a job–it would be a lot more money–but I wouldn’t be home with my family, and I wouldn’t be working with the special ed kids that I work with. They would have to do without me. I had convinced myself that this was the best thing to do because my kids needed Christmas.

So I took you and AuNane in the front room, sat down with you guys, and told you. You were real quiet and then AuNane looked at me; she said, ”Dad, your kids need you more than we need presents.” And so I told AuNane, “Ok. I’ll continue to work with the special ed kids,” and you and AuNane both hugged me. That was a time when I was so proud because my kids knew what sacrifice was. 

And a week later, people started buying your mom’s ornaments and we had money to buy you guys presents.

But it felt good that Christmas. I knew you were going to be good kids, and it made me proud.

<MUSIC>

MG: Thompson Williams with his son Ki at StoryCorps in 2014.

<MUSIC OUT>

MG: Our last story takes place on Christmas Eve back in 1967… in a Knoxville, Tennessee neighborhood called Mechanicsville. 

JM: Lynn Weaver grew up there. 

And at StoryCorps… he remembered a holiday lesson he learned when he was a teenager.

William Lynn Weaver: I remember walking up the street, Christmas Eve, and I see this kid riding down the street on their bicycle, and I say, ’Boy, that looks like my brother’s bike.’ I get to the house and say, ’Wayne, where’s your bike?’ And he said, ’It was down on the steps.’ I said, ’No it’s not. It’s gone.’

It’s a small neighborhood,so we find out where the kid lives who has the bike. And it’s a shack in an alley. Now, my brother and I, we’re going to beat this boy but my father was there and he said, ’Just shut up and let me talk.’

So we knock on the door and this old black guy comes on a cane. The house was cold; the only light he had was a candle. It was his grandson who had stolen the bike, so he calls him out. He was the same age as my brother, about ten years old. The little boy starts crying and he says, ’I just wanted something for Christmas.’ So we get the bike and we leave. We go back to my house.

My father tells my mother and she doesn’t say anything. She just starts cutting the turkey in half and all the fixings. She started packing it up. My father went to the coal yard and got a big bag of coal. And then he told my brother, he said, ’You’ve got another bike, don’t you?’ My brother said, ’Yeah…’

So we went back with food, coal — so they’d have some heat — and the bike. The little boy is just crying but the thing that moved me the most was the old man. My father gave him $20, which was a huge deal back then, and said, ’Merry Christmas.’ He said, ’Thank you,’ and then just broke down in tears.

My father was a chauffeur. My mother was a domestic, so we didn’t have a lot of stuff. 

And uh, that Christmas, I don’t even remember what gift I got, but I do know that made me feel better than any Christmas I’ve ever had.

<MUSIC>

MG: That’s all for this episode of the StoryCorps Podcast. 

JM: We love hearing from you… our listeners… and our voicemail line is always open… even during the holidays. 

MG: That’s right. Max Jungreis is sitting waiting by the phone for you to call. 

JM: (Laughs) This week we’re wondering: What’s the best gift you’ve ever received, and why?

MG: Leave us your answer in a voicemail at 702-706-TALK. That’s 702-706 T-A-L-K. 

<MUSIC CHANGE>

The stories in this episode were produced by Jasmyn Morris, Jud Esty-Kendall and me.

JM: Special thanks to facilitators Mayra Sierra, Daniel Sitts, and Kayvon Bahramian. 

This podcast is produced by Max Jungreis. Our Senior Producer is Jud Esty-Kendall. 

MG: Amy Drozdowska is our Executive Producer. Our Technical Director is Jarrett Floyd. And the artwork for our podcast is created by Liz McCarty. 

I’m Michael Garofalo. 

JM: And I’m Jasmyn Morris. Thanks for listening. 

MG: And happy holidays…

Kid: …two wreaths, a snowflake, a Christmas tree, lights, Santa, presents. Oh! We also have this too. (Shakes sleigh bells) 

JM: Oh yeah. And then we also have…

Kid: The Christmas books. So I think we should make my whole room Christmas-y though.

JM: It pretty much already is.

Kid: But we need to make it more Christmas-y-er. 

<MUSIC OUT>