Here is a shot of Santa Claus Lane (yes, there are many Christmasy street names) along with the candy cane lightposts:
October looks like this (Maddie and Abbie 2007):
And May looks like this (so that's possibly 8 months with snow on the ground):
And June looks like this (photo taken after finishing the 10K Midnight Sun Run, pregnant with Brayton...past Midnight!) no flash was used in the taking of this photo:
Some facts:
Sunshine - longest day: June 21st with 21 hours 49 minutes
Sunshine - shortest day: December 21st with 3 hours 42 minutes
Record High temp: 95 degrees
Record Low temp: -78 degrees (yes, below ZERO. I've personally seen -70...just as I was heading back to BYU-Hawaii for the winter semester)
The name of the town was selected to attract the toy industry (so they could say, made in the North Pole), but it never came to fruition.
In middle school for our language arts classes, we'd get to write back to kids who sent Santa letters. It was always fun to pretend to be Santa, but we were told that we couldn't promise to bring specific toys asked for. I mostly told them about how I had to feed the reindeer and what kind of cookies I preferred.
City sales tax: 4%
State sales tax: 0 (nice, huh?)
Yes, there is a statue of Santa. No, we don't use dogsleds as the main mode of transportation. And igloos are used as hunting shelters. North Pole is really a neat place to live and even more fun telling people where we're from (although, Jeremy still claims Fairbanks to be his home, and rightly so).
12 comments:
Just so you know ... when we're done with Law School and my family and I have the means to visit, we're going to explore your hometown. I'm just letting you know so that when it comes up, you won't be surprised. Thanks for telling me more about Alaska, more specifically, North Pole ... It makes me want to visit.
Oh you North Polers...Kelly and I are trying so hard to remain Fairbanksans. I think there will always be those of us that prefer one or the other...guess you can guess where mine is. LoL You never know though, we may up somewhere near Santa Claus Lane before all is said done.
Oh awesome!! Love the candy canes... and thanks for clarifying all of that. :) (again!)
Guess what! As of now we have not had snow that stays yet. Crazy huh? The kids may get to trick or treat with no snow on the ground.
I agree! North Pole is a great place to be from! I LOVED this post. Totally enjoyed it!
I thought it was great we ended up hearing about North Pole. I always enjoy listening to you tell more about it. Thanks for the pictures though...it definitely paints a better picture of it all!
Hurray! I'm glad you guys are planning to come back, although I'm sure your Kansas friends will miss you very much! :)
ok.. i was wondering.. if u really were from the north pole.. im glad we cleared that all up!!;)
Pretty sure your home town sounds way fun, and like everyone else I love the candy cane light poles. Your town sounds so fun!!!! I love the snow so seeing snow there for alot of months sounds like a blast. Its fun to hear about your "home".
Great post. I didn't know that North Pole was named to attract the toy industry.
Wow! I am honored-we are part of your "North Pole, Alaska" pictures. Alaska is sure not the same for our family with out the O'Neils down the street!
Oh my freakin word. What a walk down memory lane. Not that I didn't see the city a million times while we were there but I remember going to your house. I remember the candy canes, the toy shop gift shops and some pole Travis tried to shimmy up. I remember the Air Force base nearby.
Seriously bombarded with a million memories. When you move back you'll have to let me know. I may just come and visit you.
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