When Santa Lived at Alcatraz

The name “Alcatraz” brings to mind the notorious federal penitentiary from 1934 to 1963, home to noted criminals like Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly. The prison was considered impossible to escape, with its position on a remote island in the San Francisco Bay. Of the thirty-four attempts made, only one was questionably successful. For those unfortunate people who were sentenced there, it was a place of doom and hopelessness.

 

But Alcatraz Island was also the site of the first lighthouse on the west coast of California, built in 1853. From that time until the lighthouse was automated in 1963, the island was home to its lighthouse keepers and their families. When the existing military fort turned army barracks was converted to the federal prison, the lighthouse families lived alongside prison guards and their families.

 

In 1931, jovial and heavyset Edward H. Schneider was appointed assistant keeper at Alcatraz Lighthouse. Not so coincidentally, Santa arrived at the island the next Christmas, bringing joy to the children of the keepers as well as those of the prison guards. Schneider’s daughter Jacquelyn, fondly remembered her life on the island, comparing it to growing up in a small town, complete with its own Santa Claus who happened to be her father. Schneider served at the lighthouse for 28 years, retiring when the lighthouse was automated in 1963.

 

 

 

One might think Alcatraz Island would be a dismal place to spend Christmas. But Ed Schneider showed how Christmas joy can exist anywhere when you share your joy with others.

At Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Christ and the joy He brought into a dark world. Will you share that joy today?

 

 

 

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” Luke 2:10

Merry Christmas!

 

*Story courtesy Lighthouse Digest.