Arizona Tales: The Man Who Killed Santa Claus Traditional Cache
Tsegi Mike and Desert Viking: This cache will not be able to be replaced.
Arizona Tales: The Man Who Killed Santa Claus
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(large)
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R.I.P. Santa
December 19, 1932
Christmas during the depression. Stores were hurting financially. The editor of Mesa Journal-Tribune, John McPhee, came up with a terrific idea. Have Santa jump out of an airplane and land near Main Street in Mesa.
Oh yes, it was a great idea. This was the era of barnstorming. Folks were thrilled by the notion of Santa jumping out of an airplane. Families lined up. Store owners salivated at the thought of all the Christmas cheer spending money in their shops. McPhee arrived only to find his Santa drunk. Too drunk to jump. An alternative plan was hastily arranged. John McPhee would put on the Santa suit and wait on the ground. A mannequin in a Santa suit would be on the plane. Someone would toss the mannequin out and McPhee as Santa would be on the ground at the landing site to greet the kids.
It worked great except for one minor detail: Mannequins cant pull parachute chords. The spectators watched in horror as Santa was pushed out of the airplane and plummeted to the ground. Rumor has it women went into labor. Children cried. Shopowners watched in horror as distraught families fled downtown Mesa. McPhee had to leave town for a few days. The Mesa Tribune did not print the story for a few days as well.
In 1958, John McPhee passed away. His obituary headline read:
The Man Who Killed Santa, Dies.
You are looking for a larger than usual ammo can under the southern side of the palm trees. Please replace the ammo can in the upright position. Its dented and may not be waterproof otherwise. First to find has a prize of a foreign coin worth a couple of dollars.
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