Chief Master Sgt. Winfield Hinkley Jr., Command Senior Enlisted Leader of the Alaska National Guard, left, Makayla Hikley, middle, and Maj. John Brackenbury, divisional commander with the Salvation Army, Alaska Division, wrap gifts in Anchorage, Alaska, that will be sent to children in three rural Alaska villages, on Nov. 17, 2020. The Alaska National Guard and the Salvation Army were able to provide and deliver gifts for the program’s 65th year, but had to scale back distribution parties that are normally held in the villages because of COVID-19. (AP Photo / Mark Thiessen)

Chief Master Sgt. Winfield Hinkley Jr., Command Senior Enlisted Leader of the Alaska National Guard, left, Makayla Hikley, middle, and Maj. John Brackenbury, divisional commander with the Salvation Army, Alaska Division, wrap gifts in Anchorage, Alaska, that will be sent to children in three rural Alaska villages, on Nov. 17, 2020. The Alaska National Guard and the Salvation Army were able to provide and deliver gifts for the program’s 65th year, but had to scale back distribution parties that are normally held in the villages because of COVID-19. (AP Photo / Mark Thiessen)

Pandemic prompts scaled back Christmas tradition in Alaska

This year’s edition of Operation Santa Claus didn’t have the pomp of previous incarnations.

  • By Mark Thiessen Associated Press
  • Tuesday, December 15, 2020 11:10am
  • News

By Mark Thiessen

Associated Press

ANCHORAGE — On a tiny speck of a frozen runway on the north bank of the Yukon River, nearly a hundred miles northwest of Fairbanks, Christmas was delivered in a most unusual way.

An Alaska National Guard helicopter descended through a rotor-whipped cloud of snow in Stevens Village, a tiny community of about 30 people. Townspeople rushed to the airstrip on their snowmobiles after seeing the helicopter land and then watched as Guardsmen wearing flight helmets unloaded boxes containing wrapped gifts for just about everyone in the community.

Then they flew off.

In this photo provided by the Alaska National Guard, soldiers from 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, unload gifts from a CH-47 Chinook helicopter in Nanwalek, Alaska, during Operation Santa Claus, on Dec. 11, 2020. Operation Santa Claus is an Alaska National Guard annual community outreach program that provides Christmas gifts, books, school supplies and stocking stuffers to children in rural Alaskan communities. The Alaska National Guard and the Salvation Army were able to provide and deliver gifts for the program’s 65th year, but had to scale back distribution parties that are normally held in the villages because of COVID-19. (Edward Eagerton / U.S. Army National Guard)

In this photo provided by the Alaska National Guard, soldiers from 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, unload gifts from a CH-47 Chinook helicopter in Nanwalek, Alaska, during Operation Santa Claus, on Dec. 11, 2020. Operation Santa Claus is an Alaska National Guard annual community outreach program that provides Christmas gifts, books, school supplies and stocking stuffers to children in rural Alaskan communities. The Alaska National Guard and the Salvation Army were able to provide and deliver gifts for the program’s 65th year, but had to scale back distribution parties that are normally held in the villages because of COVID-19. (Edward Eagerton / U.S. Army National Guard)

This year’s edition of Operation Santa Claus didn’t have the pomp and grandeur of previous incarnations, but the mission of delivering gifts here and two other largely Alaska Native villages was completed with COVID-19 safety precautions in place.

“For 65 years we have not missed a beat,” said Chief Master Sgt. Winfield Hinkley, Jr., command senior enlisted leader of the Alaska National Guard.

“And I will tell you, COVID is rough,” he said, “but it will not stop us from carrying out this tradition. It is an honor to do it.”

Operation Santa Claus was born out of hard times in 1956, when residents in the village of St. Mary’s faced a tough choice: food or gifts for the children after flooding, then drought, devastated subsistence activities. They chose food.

The Alaska Air National Guard then stepped in, delivering donated gifts and supplies to the community,

Since then, the program has grown, and in 1969, The Salvation Army became a partner in providing toys and other items to children across rural Alaska.

Each year, Operation Santa Claus attempts to deliver gifts to two or three villages that are selected for varying reasons, such as having a particular hardship in the last year or high poverty levels.

In this photo provided by the Alaska National Guard, residents of the village of Nanwalek, Alaska, greet guardsmen who delivered presents in a CH-47 Chinook helicopter from 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, during Operation Santa, Dec. 11, 2020. The Alaska National Guard and the Salvation Army were able to provide and deliver gifts for the program’s 65th year, but had to scale back distribution parties that are normally held in the villages because of COVID-19. (Edward Eagerton / U.S. Army National Guard)

In this photo provided by the Alaska National Guard, residents of the village of Nanwalek, Alaska, greet guardsmen who delivered presents in a CH-47 Chinook helicopter from 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, during Operation Santa, Dec. 11, 2020. The Alaska National Guard and the Salvation Army were able to provide and deliver gifts for the program’s 65th year, but had to scale back distribution parties that are normally held in the villages because of COVID-19. (Edward Eagerton / U.S. Army National Guard)

More than 90 villages have hosted Operation Santa Claus since St. Mary’s. Stevens Village, and the other two selected this year, Birch Creek and Nanwalek, were first-time participants.

[Vaccine arrives in Alaska]

This year, volunteers packed toys, stocking stuffers, backpacks, knit hats, toothbrushes and toothpaste and books for 127 children.

In a normal year, the arrival of Operation Santa Claus is a community event, with locals driving Santa and Mrs. Claus and helpers in the back of pickups or on sleds pulled by snowmobiles to the local school for a party. All village residents are invited to have their photos taken with Santa and eat an ice cream sundae, and children get a gift.

But during the pandemic, COVID-19 protocols dictated the gifts be delivered to airstrips, where locals picked up and distributed them.

Stevens Village First Chief David Kriska said having the National Guard call and see if they would be interested was reassuring.

“It was great because just being so locked down and with travel, you know, so out of touch with the outside world,” he said. “Having someone that even reached out and wanted to do something like that was like, ‘Whoa, hey, awesome!’”

However, he wishes it could have been the full experience, including having his children sit on Santa’s lap.

“It would have been great for my kids to interact with them because they’re needing that social interaction,” he said. “I would have loved to have that picture with my daughters.”

More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast through the week of Nov. 3

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, speaks to members of the Senate majority caucus’ leadership group on Friday, April 12, 2024. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Education, energy and elections among priorities of Alaska Senate’s post-election agenda

Senate’s previous bipartisan majority will continue, albeit a bit smaller, after election.

A statue of William Henry Seward stands outside the Dimond Courthouse in downtown Juneau. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)
Juneau man gets 18-year prison sentence for sexual abuse of a minor

Craig Foster, 63, pleaded guilty to charge involving girl between 9 and 11 years old.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Monday, Nov. 4, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Rep. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, speaks in favor of Senate Bill 48, the carbon credits bill, on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, in the Alaska House. At background is Department of Resources Commissioner John Boyle and staff supporting the bill. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska House control flips from predominantly Republican coalition to mostly Democratic coalition

Preliminary election results show the new House majority will have at least 22 members.

West Juneau homes on Douglas Island late Thursday afternoon. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
What will Trump as president again and a more liberal Alaska Legislature mean for Juneau?

Election appears to shake up federal and state governments in different ways, leaving lots of unknowns.

Most Read