{"id":35252,"date":"2018-12-19T13:38:07","date_gmt":"2018-12-19T17:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=35252"},"modified":"2018-12-19T13:38:07","modified_gmt":"2018-12-19T17:38:07","slug":"washington-states-long-lost-magic-radio-santa-gets-new-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/12\/washington-states-long-lost-magic-radio-santa-gets-new-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington State’s Long-lost \u2018Magic Radio\u2019 Santa Gets New Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is what the announcer said at 4:30 p.m. one day about a week before Christmas 1950 over the airwaves of radio station KELA in Lewis County: \u201cYes, stand by for Santa Claus! The Beacon Store, Santa\u2019s headquarters for southwest Washington, presents the most important radio program of the year, Santa\u2019s very own. Santa\u2019s Magic Radio! We\u2019re going to take Santa\u2019s Magic Radio and talk to Santa at his North Pole headquarters! So, stand by for Santa Claus!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>First of all, let me be very clear: I believe in Santa Claus. Second, I\u2019m a sucker for grownups who do things to make the lives of kids more magical. When I was a little kid in the 1970s and was in my \u201cdoubting Santa\u201d phase, I\u2019d hear local and national media reports about NORAD tracking Santa\u2019s sleigh, and my doubts were instantly \u2013 and permanently \u2013 erased.<\/em><\/p>\n

Fast-forward about 40 years, and I learned this week that there were some grownups in Lewis County who did a pretty special thing every year to help Santa and local kids.<\/em><\/p>\n

For about three weeks before Christmas, from sometime in the 1940s to sometime in the 1980s, radio station KELA in Centralia\/Chehalis would use a \u201cMagic Radio\u201d to connect with Santa Claus at the North Pole for 15 minutes each day. With the swirling sounds of a blizzard in the background, and with help from a fast-talking elf named Tommy Tinker, Santa would read letters from local kids about what they wanted for Christmas.<\/em><\/p>\n

Click here to read the full story at MyNorthwest.com, including a recording of the December 1950 broadcast<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Guy Atkins is a Sr. Graphic Designer for T-Mobile and lives near Seattle, Washington. \u00a0He\u2019s a regular contributor to the SWLing Post.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is what the announcer said at 4:30 p.m. one day about a week before Christmas 1950 over the airwaves of radio station KELA in Lewis County: \u201cYes, stand by for Santa Claus! The Beacon Store, Santa\u2019s headquarters for southwest Washington, presents the most important radio program of the year, Santa\u2019s very own. Santa\u2019s Magic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[373,8,433,305,288,746],"tags":[7473,1560,7472,4094,7475,7474],"class_list":["post-35252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-am","category-articles","category-mediumwave","category-nostalgia","category-radio-history","category-recordings","tag-broadcast","tag-christmas","tag-kela","tag-nostalgia","tag-program","tag-santa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-9aA","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23063,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/radio-free-europe-and-christmas\/","url_meta":{"origin":35252,"position":0},"title":"Radio Free Europe and Christmas","author":"Thomas","date":"December 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Cummings, who shares the 1951 Radio Free Europe Christmas card above. Richard also notes that he recently published a two-part series on RFE and Christmas on his blog, Cold War Radio Vignettes. Christmas and Radio Free Europe, Part One: Santa Claus, Freedom Girl\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/RFE-Christmas-Card-1951.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16099,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/the-annual-santa-net-on-3916-khz\/","url_meta":{"origin":35252,"position":1},"title":"The annual “Santa Net” on 3916 kHz","author":"Thomas","date":"December 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"If you have a shortwave radio with SSB mode, you too can listen to the Santa Net on\u00a03916 kHz LSB every night until Christmas starting at 01:30 UTC (7:30 PM CST). Of course, if you're an amateur radio operator, you can talk to Santa as well! (Source: Southgate ARC) Santa\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Santa-Radio-Vintage","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Santa-Radio-Vintage.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Santa-Radio-Vintage.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Santa-Radio-Vintage.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47037,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/12\/from-the-archives-yes-there-is-a-shortwave-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":35252,"position":2},"title":"From the Archives: Yes, there is a shortwave…!","author":"Thomas","date":"December 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Note: Jeff Murray and I posted at Christmas in 2014--I thought it would be fun to dig it out of the archives once again. \u00a0Enjoy! Dear Editor\u2014 I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no shortwave. Uncle DX Dash! says, \"If you see it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Virginia letter Dash","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Virginia-letter-Dash-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Virginia-letter-Dash-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Virginia-letter-Dash-1024x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":64832,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/this-is-snowplough-radio-this-is-snowplough-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":35252,"position":3},"title":"This is snowplough radio, this is snowplough radio","author":"Fastradioburst23","date":"December 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Greetings all SWLing Post community, here's what the Imaginary Stations crew have for you next week. We've two shows celebrating the forth coming holiday period with a series of shows called WNTR, the first via shortwaveradio.de on Saturday 13th December 2025 at 1200 hrs UTC\u00a0and then again on Sunday 14th\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Guest Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Guest Posts","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/guest-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/WNTR_Dec-WRMI.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/WNTR_Dec-WRMI.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/WNTR_Dec-WRMI.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/WNTR_Dec-WRMI.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/WNTR_Dec-WRMI.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/WNTR_Dec-WRMI.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10425,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/08\/shortwave-radio-recordings-radio-santa-cruz\/","url_meta":{"origin":35252,"position":4},"title":"Shortwave Radio Recordings: Radio Santa Cruz","author":"Thomas","date":"August 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"For your listening pleasure: twenty minutes of Radio Santa Cruz. I recorded Radio Santa Cruz early this morning around 10:00\u00a0UTC on 6,135\u00a0kHz using my WinRadio Excalibur. As you\u2019ll hear in the recording, Radio Santa Cruz's 10 kW signal from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, was very much audible here in North America--even\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bolivia","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Bolivia-1024x549.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Bolivia-1024x549.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Bolivia-1024x549.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16403,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/make-time-for-some-holiday-listening\/","url_meta":{"origin":35252,"position":5},"title":"Make time for some holiday listening","author":"Thomas","date":"December 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Remember that there are some unique broadcasts to tune to today and throughout the holidays. Here are a couple of note: NDR\u2019s annual Christmas greetings program on shortwave Fessenden Christmas Eve Commemorative Transmissions Of course, many of your favorite international broadcasters will also have holiday specials throughout the week. If\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Santa-Christmas-Radio","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Santa-Christmas-Radio.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Santa-Christmas-Radio.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Santa-Christmas-Radio.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Santa-Christmas-Radio.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35252\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}