No newspaper wants to see a typo in its pages. It can be embarrassing for the newspaper, humiliating for the parties involved, and can even lead to legal threats.
But sometimes it can spark a great story.
Such was the case on Christmas Eve 1955 when a youngster in Colorado Springs reportedly dialed a phone number as listed for Santa Claus in a local newspaper. The call instead went to Air Force Col. Harry Shoup at Colorado’s Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center, according to the Department of Defense’s retelling.
Not knowing they dialed an incorrect phone number, the young child asked the Air Force colonel about the location of Saint Nick that night. Col. Shoup dutifully reported the jolly old elf’s location to the youngster. Shoup reportedly told the young child and their parents that he was tracking Santa and making sure he was safe on his journey.
But they weren’t the only ones. Soon, other children began to call the air defense center, presumably based on the same typo. Shoup delegated the responsibility of relaying Santa’s location to one of his phone operators.
Thus began a tradition that has carried on ever since.
The Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center was rebranded in 1958 as NORAD, North American Aerospace Defense Command. NORAD is a binational organization between the U.S. and Canada headquartered at the Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs. The organization provides continental defense of the U.S. and Canada by monitoring the airspace traffic around North America and the world. And that includes Santa Claus and his eight reindeer.
The NORAD Santa Tracker, now in its 67th year has been recognized as one of the Department of Defense’s most successful outreach programs.
NORAD’s Santa Tracker, which is displayed on TV news channels throughout Christmas Eve, will show children and families the location of Kris Kringle in real-time, including when he is in the Inland Northwest. The NORAD Santa Tracker has had an internet presence since 1997 and now includes an educational website for children, noradsanta.org, an app and corresponding social media channels.
But of course, children are still encouraged to check in on Santa’s location via phone call the same way that the NORAD Santa Tracker got its start.
Children and families can call 1-877-HI-NORAD (446-6723) on Dec. 24 for updates on Santa’s location.
NORAD Santa Tracker volunteers take an average of 130,000 phone calls each year, according to the Department of Defense.
