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Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive in this tiny Southwest Alaska village on an Alaska Air National Guard C-130 transport plane Nov. 15, 2016. The Clauses were here as part of Operation Santa Claus, an Alaska National Guard-led program that delivers toys, sc...
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Alaska National Guard members load Christmas gifts onto a pickup truck from their Alaska Air National Guard C-130 transport plane Nov. 15, 2016. The Guard members were here as part of Operation Santa Claus, an Alaska National Guard-led program that d...
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Retired Air National Guardsman Everett Johnson takes pictures of schoolchildren with Santa Claus in this tiny Southwest Alaska village Nov. 15, 2016. The Clauses were here as part of Operation Santa Claus, an Alaska National Guard-led program that de...
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Alaska Governor Bill Walker greets Togiak elders in the school gymnasium here Nov. 15, 2016. Walker and Alaska First Lady Donna Walker were here as part of Operation Santa Claus, an Alaska National Guard-led program that delivers toys, school supplie...
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Schoolchildren here crowd around a visiting service dog Nov. 15, 2016. The dogs and their handlers were here as part of Operation Santa Claus, an Alaska National Guard-led program that delivers toys, school supplies and other gifts to children in Ala...
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Togiak schoolgirls recieve backpacks donated by Costco in the school gymnasium here Nov. 15, 2016. Costco and several other donors were here as part of Operation Santa Claus, an Alaska National Guard-led program that delivers toys, school supplies an...
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Togiak schoolgirl Cassadee Moore, 3, beams up at Santa in the school gymnasium here Nov. 15, 2016. The Clauses were here as part of Operation Santa Claus, an Alaska National Guard-led program that delivers toys, school supplies and other gifts to chi...
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Senior Airman Denise Barnes, with the Air Force Reserve's 55th Aerial Port Squadron, accepts a push-up challenge from a resident here Nov. 15, 2016. Barnes was one of a handful of reservists who traveled here from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., to as...
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Staff Sgt. Katelyn Martell, with the Air Force Reserve's 55th Aerial Port Squadron, competes in an "Eskimo stick" contest with a schoolgirl here Nov. 15, 2016. Martell was one of a handful of reservists who traveled here from Travis Air Force Base, C...
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An Alaska Air National Guard C-130 transport plane sits on the runway here Nov. 15, 2016. The brought Santa, Mrs. Claus and about 50 volunteer "elves" here as part of Operation Santa Claus, an Alaska National Guard-led program that delivers toys, sch...
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Alaska Governor Bill Walker and his wife, Alaska First Lady Donna Walker, give a goodbye hug to Togiak School secretary Margie Frost at the airstrip here Nov. 15, 2016. The Walkers were here as part of Operation Santa Claus, an Alaska National Guard-...
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The crewmembers of an Alaska Air National Guard C-130 parked on the airstrip here wave from the cockpit Nov. 15, 2016. The Guardsmen were here as part of Operation Santa Claus, an Alaska National Guard-led program that delivers toys, school supplies ...
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TOGIAK, Alaska - In a rare daytime appearance, Santa and about 50 of his elves - including Alaska Gov. Bill Walker and First Lady Donna Walker - came early this year to visit Christmas cheer upon the schoolchildren of this remote village in Southwest Alaska.
The early visit was made possible by the Alaska National Guard's Operation Santa Claus, now in its 60th year. Each year since 1956, volunteers have come together to process and package donated Christmas toys, school supplies, books and staple foods. Most of these "elves" are affiliated with the Alaska Army or Air National Guard; others step forward from local businesses and community groups. Alaska Air National Guard crews then fly the elves and their collected goodies to a selected handful of villages a year.
In the festive Togiak School gymnasium, small schoolchildren climbed onto Mr. and Mrs. Santa's laps to receive gifts. Others crowded around the visiting Guard members, peppering them with questions, and challenged their guests to push-ups and "Eskimo stick" contests.
"The children were really excited to learn they were coming," said Sam Gosuk, principal of the Togiak School. "And so were the adults. I really want to thank the people here - not only students, but also teachers and some members of the community - who stayed up late decorating the gym. Everything was very organized."
"It was so amazing," Margie Frost, the school's secretary, said to Walker as she drove the governor and first lady back to the Guard's waiting C-130 aircraft afterwards. "I have a story I'd like to tell you.
"In 2000, my dad died near Bethel," she continued. "He fell through the ice. That was December 23. We got the news on Dec. 24 - Christmas Eve - that he was missing.
"I didn't think I would ever feel the same about Christmas. But now I do, seeing how happy all the kids are. It is really special. I feel like that Christmas spirit is back."
Three additional Operation Santa Claus missions are scheduled for 2016. The elves will visit Akiak, Akiachak, Tuluksak and Grayling in December. Altogether, Operation Santa Claus 2016 will deliver Christmas cheer to about 1,800 children, said Op Santa Volunteer Coordinator April Gettys.
Operation Santa Claus began in 1956, when floods and a drought ruined the hunting and fishing season for residents in the Western Alaska village of St. Mary's. With only enough money to pay to have food shipped in and nothing left over for Christmas, the mother superior of the village's Roman Catholic mission wrote a letter to the Alaska National Guard asking for help. Radio and television stations and Anchorage's two newspapers spread the word, and within days the Guard was inundated with donations of new and used toys. The mission closed in the late 1980s, but the gift-giving effort continued to grow. Since then, literally tens of thousands of Alaska's schoolchildren have had their Christmas seasons brightened through Operation Santa Claus.
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