KTUU.com | Alaska's news and information source | Mayor of North Pole, Alaska says The Grinch has stolen Christmas

Mayor of North Pole, Alaska says The Grinch has stolen Christmas

by Megan Baldino
Tuesday, November 17, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Mayor of North Pole, Alaska is calling it an assault on Christmas after the United States Postal Service says it's going to stop sending letters to Santa Claus in the Interior Alaska town.

"This is having the stocking taken away so coal can't even be put in the stocking. This is the Grinch loading Christmas on his sleigh stealing it from the kids," said Mayor Doug Isaacson.

Isaacson said he was notified of the Postal Service's decision this week, "It's destructive to the identity of the city. I was outraged."

According to a U.S. Postal Service Spokesperson for the Northwest region of the country, there is a new policy in place for letters to Santa Claus in North Pole, Alaska.

Ernie Swanson said it's an issue of security and the Postal Service has had to tighten up security.

"We've had a few issues in the last couple of years where people have gotten a hold of letters to Santa that had return addresses and kids' names on it and they've attempted inappropriate things so we've had to clamp down on this in the interest of security," said Swanson.

When asked what will happen to the letters, Ernie Swanson, said in many cases, nothing.

"It won't be responded to, it won't be processed it won't be handled it'll just be set aside and presumably put in a recycling bin or something like that."

Isaacson said it's a long-standing tradition in the community to respond to the letters and in some cases help the less fortunate. He says it's been a success for decades.

"I was frustrated they didn't tell us they were not going to allow us or our businesses to reply to letters from Santa, we've been doing this since 1954," said Isaacson.

Also making Isaacson angry, the Postal Service will no longer be using the North Pole post mark in North Pole.

In addition to the letters to Santa, hundred of thousands of people request a holiday post mark from North Pole.

Now that service will be done through the Anchorage office.

Swanson says it's a matter efficiency.

"They don't have that much processing equipment and we were getting somewhere around 700,000 or 800,000 requests a year and it was overwhelming that office."

For Mike Miller and his family, it's upsetting news.

Miller owns and operates the number one attraction in North Pole, Alaska: Santa Claus House.

Miller says it was his dad Con Miller who first requested a North Pole post mark and he says the first post office was housed in their store in 1953.

He says the move could drastically change his global Letters from Santa Claus program.

"We sell a commercial letter from Santa Claus and one of the main selling points of the letter is the North Pole Postmark," said Miller.

Miller adds that having these letters and others go through Anchorage just isn't the same.

"Because everyone knows Santa lives in North Pole."

Mayor Isaacson says he's contacted Alaska's congressional delegation and is going to bring his story to light so everyone knows what the Postal Service is up to because as he puts it, "the Grinch has stolen Christmas."

Contact Megan Baldino at mbaldino@ktuu.com