Christmas Ship brings holiday magic to San Juan Islands

By Darrell Kirk

Sounder contributor

For generations of island children, the annual arrival of the Christmas Ship from Canada marked the true beginning of the holiday season. The decorated vessel, blazing with lights and broadcasting Christmas carols across the dark waters, brought Santa Claus and the spirit of Christmas to Friday Harbor and the San Juan Islands. In a cherished cross-border tradition, children in the San Juan Islands received visits from the Canadian Christmas Ship, while children in Canada’s Gulf Islands welcomed the American Christmas Ship — a heartwarming exchange of holiday cheer between neighboring island communities.

A magical arrival

Peggy Negley, who grew up in Friday Harbor and witnessed the tradition in the 1960s, remembers the profound anticipation of seeing the ship round the point. For island children, Santa arriving by boat made perfect sense. In an interview with the Islands’ Sounder, Negley explains, “It was just natural for us as kids to see him come by boat. That’s how everything else came.”

“As soon as you saw the lights and heard the music, it was like, oh boy,” she recalls. “You could hardly contain yourself, it was so fun.” One year, the ship arrived through thick fog, making the moment even more magical when it broke through the mist.

The journey to meet Santa

The Christmas Ship would dock at Friday Harbor, where families gathered to meet Santa and his crew, some dressed as elves, pirates and clowns carrying bags of gifts. Children would walk with Santa up Spring Street, with lucky youngsters chosen to hold his hand. At the old OPALCO office lobby, each child received simple but treasured gifts: a coloring book or puzzle, hard candy and a precious Japanese orange — often the only orange many island families would see all year.

An island Santa Claus

While one Santa journeyed back to Canada on the Santa Ship, another brought joy to family and friends on Friday Harbor. 95-year-old Sonya Arend, who turned 100 on Nov. 22 of this year, remembers her father, Walter Arend, the Friday Harbor postmaster, who played Santa Claus for many families in the community. In an audio recording conducted by John Bishop and sent to the Islands’ Sounder, she recalls how he would visit homes throughout the island, with families leaving gifts at their doors for him to distribute to their children — and occasionally a drink for Santa himself.

The magic of belief

Edythe Lang Heppler, Walter Arend’s granddaughter, believed in Santa Claus until she was nearly 10 years old, thanks to her grandfather’s elaborate performances. In an interview with the Islands’ Sounder, she remembers, “He would throw rocks on the roof for the reindeer, then come through the house with a ‘Ho-ho-ho.’ He made it so real.” When her mother finally revealed the truth, Heppler argued with her, insisting she had photographs proving both her grandfather and Santa were present at the same time.

Memories across the Gulf Islands

The magic of the Christmas Ship visits created lasting memories across the Gulf Islands. In interviews with the Islands’ Sounder, Auntie Kate, who grew up on Salt Spring Island, along with her brother David and sister-in-law Moya Doherty, recalled the Christmas Ship’s visit to their island: David received his first Marvel comic book, “Fantastic Four #1,” from Santa on the Santa Ship — a gift that sparked a lifelong love of Marvel comics — while Moya, who was in the hospital at the time, received a special visit from Santa when he came ashore from the Santa Ship.

The Christmas ships: A light in a troubled world

In a world marked by strife and uncertainty, the arrival of the Christmas ships to Mayne Island, located in the Gulf Islands of Canada, brought a rare moment of joy and human connection. The visit served as a powerful reminder that even in the darkest times, the spirit of goodwill could still shine through.

In a newspaper article in the Gulf Islands Driftwood dated Jan. 4, 1968, Santa Mayne reflected on the gathering at the wharf, with children’s laughter mixing with carols and the warmth of community fellowship, noting that from the woes and miseries of this world seemed to come a message from another world — a message of hope that transcended the troubles of 1967. The Christmas ships’ journey across the water symbolized something profound: that in visiting isolated island communities with gifts, music and companionship, the “Ladies of Mayne” and their supporters from Bellingham and Victoria had created brightness in the bleakest season. This annual tradition proved that simple acts of kindness and celebration could momentarily lift the heavy weight of a world too often consumed by conflict, offering instead a glimpse of the peace and joy that Christmas promises but which the troubled world so rarely delivers on its own.