Dr. Edward C. Hartford, former Palmertonian and son of the late Cy Hartford and Mrs. Ruth Hartford, who now resides in Northampton, called from the South Pole on Christmas Day to wish his wife, the former Kitty Delich, a Palmerton native, and family, a Merry Christmas.

Hartford, a Navy medic who volunteered for this South Pole mission in September, is the only medic on the base, which is located several miles from Operation Deep-Freeze. The population at the station reads 1,750,000 penguins, 17 men, one boy, 10 skua gulls and no women.

His office there overlooks Mount Erebus, the only active volcano in Antarctica. He reports temperatures at the pole range from 17 to 47 below zero.