You know me and my need for context so, for those readers unfamiliar with NORAD’s Santa tracker, here’s the down-and-dirty (yet sweetly wholesome) back story: In 1955, a Colorado Springs newspaper misprinted an advertisement that encouraged children to call a phone number so that they could talk to Santa. Instead of going to the Sears Santa, the number went to Col. Harry Shoup’s top-secret hotline at NORAD’s predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command.
As soon as Shoup realized he wasn’t being pranked but was, instead, getting calls from children who were certain Santa was on the phone, the buttoned-up military officer instantly went into Santa mode for the children on the phone. He even assigned a couple of airmen to handle the many calls that came in…
