Santa Ham" Special Event a Thrill for the Younger Set

Dressed for the part: Santa Ham Mickey Hicks, WO6T, has been playing the
role of Santa on ham radio for 30 years now.

NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 21, 2001--Several hams with young children report their
kids have enjoyed the thrill of their lives talking with Santa via ham
radio.
The W6S "Santa's Workshop" special event operation by ARRL member Mickey
Hicks, WO6T, in Bakersfield, California, now is in its 30th year of helping
to
make the season special for youngsters.

"Hats off to WO6T!" enthused Peter Schipelliti, W1DAD, of Atkinson, New
Hampshire, who says he bumped into the W6S Santa's Workshop station while he
was
tuning around on 20 meters the evening of December 19. He awoke daughter,
Geena--at age 6 already a seasoned Kid's Day veteran--so she could talk to
Santa.

"She had a great time, especially when Santa recited our address and said
that he would be coming next week," Schipelliti said. "Santa reinforced some
basic
values and reminded her that she should share her toys and continue to be
good."

Hicks, 71, says he started his Santa's Workshop effort as a one-night
effort, but he soon realized he needed to expand it. The annual W6S special
event
now runs for 10 days each Christmas season and occupies 7 to 10 hours of his
day, including preparing.

"It's not scripted," he said. "I ad lib all the time." He said he spreads
his effort out among several bands too--and notes that 17 meters has been
great
this year. Hicks estimates that he speaks with 400 to 500 youngsters each
holiday season, and sometimes they include children of the youngsters he'd
met
years earlier.

The W6S "Santa's Workshop" Web cam. That's a straight key partially obscured
at Santa's left--Hick's is a big believer in the value of Morse code.

During his QSO with W1DAD, Santa mentioned his
Web cam site. "
It was great," Schipelliti said. "We saw Santa from the back and a whole
bunch of equipment and computers." Hicks said the Web cam is a new twist the
past
couple of years that has proven to be a big hit with the kids.

Schipelliti said he and Geena heard Santa talking with some other children
too. "He started out by asking them their name and age. Then, he would ask
them
one thing they were looking forward to," he said. One very shy four-year-old
girl didn't want to talk. "Her dad was basically speaking for her, and Santa
was very gentle," Schipelliti said. "At the end he used his charm to at
least get her to say goodbye. Once he broke the ice with her, he mentioned
the
reindeer one by one and she repeated each name, one by one, back and forth,
with more excitement each time."

w6s

The W6S "Santa's Workshop" QSL.

Schipelliti said that when his almost-five-year-old son Luciano found out
that his sister got to talk with Santa, he wanted to know if Santa would be
on
the air again. "He made me promise to wake him up so he could speak with
Santa Claus on the radio," Schipelliti said.

A ham for 41 years and a long-time Amateur Radio instructor, Hicks says his
Santa's Workshop has been a great ham radio recruiting tool. One of his most
memorable experiences was when a young girl he'd once spoken with on the air
as Santa came by with her ham ticket in hand to thank him in person for
getting
her interested. "I had tears in my eyes, of course," he said.

The W6S Santa's Workshop special event operates on or about 14.270, 18.135,
21.335 and 28.335 MHz. It continues through Christmas Eve, December 24. QSL
via WO6T, who says Santa Ham always appreciates a self-addressed, stamped
envelope for the reply card.