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World's Largest Letter to Santa
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09/23/2008 WORLD'S LARGEST LETTER TO SANTA TO BE WRITTEN IN RUMFORD
10/10/2008 DEAR SANTA: ALL WE WANT IS RECORD FOR MASSIVE MISSIVE
10/20/2008 A REALLY LONG WISH LIST
10/23/2008 A LETTER TO SANTA BIGGER THAN A VOLLEYBALL COURT
11/29/2008 CURTAIN CALL
12/04/2008 A REALLY BIG LETTER TO SANTA
12/20/2008 IT'S ARRIVED!
12/23/2008 SANTA HAS A BIG JOB TO DO BEFORE THAT OTHER BIG JOB
12/23/2008 GROUP ATTEMPTS TO SEND SANTA LARGEST LETTER
01/08/2009 GUINNESS REJECTS SANTA LETTER
01/08/2009 BOOK OF ALTERNATIVE RECORDS ACCEPTS RECORD!
SEPT. 23, 2008 / RUMFORD, MAINE
WORLD'S LARGEST LETTER TO SANTA TO BE WRITTEN IN RUMFORD
Every Christmas, children all over the world write letters to Santa, sometimes asking jolly old St. Nick for presents both big and small. This year is no different, except that children from Rumford, Maine's Capital of Magic, will be asking for those presents in a really big way. On Nov. 29, 2008, beginning at 10 am, hundreds of children from the western Maine region are expected to converge on Mountain Valley High School in Rumford, to attempt to set the world record for writing the largest letter ever written on single sheet of paper and mailed to Santa at the North Pole.
The letter will be created from a single sheet of paper, 25 feet wide by 100 feet long. The letter will weigh over 51 pounds, which is over 3,850 times the weight of a standard 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper. The paper used to create the letter will be donated by the NewPage Corporation. A crew of workers will transport the rolled up paper from the paper machine to the delivery truck to the school. Members of the Pulp and Paperworkers' Resource Council have agreed to provide a crew to handle, transport and care for the large sheet of paper after it is removed from the mill. Volunteers from the Mountain Valley High School Majorettes and the Senior class, dressed as elves, have agreed to paint children's names and Christmas wishes onto the letter.
Town of Rumford government manager Len Greaney said, "I will help out in any way I can. It's really an honor to be able to be part of this project. It's good for the kids, promotes holiday spirit and giving, and we're happy to be involved."
Kaitlyn Grassette, senior class president and captain of the MVHS Majorettes, said, "I'm really excited about this event. This year Christmas will be extra special, Santa will be so proud of us we'll all be on his good list!"
It is estimated that the folded Christmas letter will weigh 816 ounces and will take 195 first-class stamps (and a very large envelope) to mail to the North Pole. Local postmaster Tony Glazier said, "This will be the largest letter ever sent through the Rumford Post office. We will do everything we can to ensure it gets safely processed and sent to Santa on time."
Additional activities during the event will include a special appearance by Santa, crafts, holiday magic show, refreshments and holiday photos. All proceeds generated by the event will benefit the Mountain Valley High School Majorettes and the school's Project Graduation.
The media are invited to attend any or all the dates for activity in creating The World's Largest Letter to Santa.
October 19th - Practice
practice handling the paper
volunteers walking on the paper
painting, spacing, print size
folding the letter for mailing
November 22nd - Available for photos paper prep
Print - Dear Santa (and first sentence)
Paint holly leaves in corner as stationary emblem
| November 29th - World's Largest Letter to Santa | |
| 6:00 am | Transport paper to school |
| 10:00 am | Doors open to the public |
| 1:00 pm | Holiday Magic Show |
| 6:00 pm | Fold paper for mailing |
| All day | Bake Sale, Santa photos, Crafts, Papermaking Demonstrations, Face Painting, Caroling, Concessions, Games, Silent Auction, World's Largest Letter to Santa viewing. |
Committee and Contact information for the World's Largest Letter to Santa
Scot Grassette
Event Chairman / Volunteer
49 Franklin Street
Rumford, ME 04276
TEL. HOME (207) 364-0219 WORK (207)369-2713
CELL: (207) 418-8556
email: Scot Grassette
Tom Rizzo
Media Relations District of the Maine USPS
TEL. (207) 482-7111
email: Tom Rizzo
Dean Gilbert
Northeast Regional Director
The Pulp and Paperworkers Resource Council
Rumford, ME 04276
TEL. (207) 369-2713
CELL (207)357-9378
email: Dean Gilbert
Tony Lyons
Community Relations Director
NewPage Corporation, Coated Paper
35 Hartford Street
Rumford, ME 04276
TEL. (207) 369-2615
CELL (207) 357-3440
FAX (207) 369-2615
email: Tony Lyons
Leonard P. Greaney
Town Manager
Town of Rumford, ME
145 Congress Street
Rumford, ME 04276
TEL. (207) 364-4576
CELL (207) 357-7188
FAX (207) 364-5642
email: Leonard P. Greaney
Debbie Buotte
Mountain Valley High School Senior Class Advisor
799 Hancock Street
Rumford, ME 04276
TEL. (207) 364-4547
FAX (207) 364-3436
email: Debbie Buotte
October 10, 2008 / LEWISTON SUN-JOURNAL
By Eileen M. Adams , Staff Writer
Friday, October 10, 2008
RUMFORD - A 25- by 100-foot letter to Santa - possibly the world's largest - could land the town in the Guinness Book of World Records.
That's the hope of Scot Grassette, who came up with the idea. He has the paperwork from the organization. He's made arrangements to mail the letter to North Pole, Alaska. All that's needed is completion of the project on Saturday, Nov. 29.
It will work this way: Anyone, child or adult, who has a request for Santa can go to the Mountain Valley High School gymnasium between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and tell a majorette or a senior student what they want from Santa. The students, dressed as elves, will write down the requests and sign people's names to the sprawling letter.
"I hope 500 people will come," Grassette said.
There will be no cost for a person to make a request from Santa. But throughout the day, a bake sale will be held, along with a craft fair, papermaking demonstrations, face-painting, caroling, music, concessions, games and photos. Grassette hopes Santa will show up for the event.
A magic show, with at least six magicians from the Society of American Magicians, an organization Grassette, a magician, and his daughter, Kaitlyn, belong to, will begin at 1 p.m. in Muskie Auditorium. Kaitlyn is captain of the majorettes and president of Mountain Valley's senior class.
Grassette works as an electrician at NewPage Corp. paper mill, which is donating three huge sheets of paper, each weighing more than 51 pounds.
"This could be the wildest customer order we've ever filled," said mill spokesman Tony Lyons. "We've never done anything like this."
One sheet of paper will be for practice, which will take place at Grassette's theater on Franklin Street on Sunday, Oct. 19. The second is for the final product and the third is for "if we mess up," Grassette said.
He got the idea one day as he was walking past a paper machine after attending a teaching workshop in Bangor. He had been looking for some way to help raise money for majorettes and Project Graduation at Mountain Valley High School.
He thought at the time, "I bet I could do something with a large piece of paper," he said Tuesday.
The attempt to set a world record involves many people. Grassette said Town Manager Len Greaney will officially measure the document and will be part of Grassette's magic show.
The Pulp and Paper Resource Council has agreed to transport the rolled-up paper to the high school. Rumford Postmaster Tony Glazier has agreed to mail the letter, estimated to require 195 first-class stamps.
The day's events will take up the high school's gym, cafeteria and auditorium.
"We'll attempt to set the world record for writing the largest single-sheet paper letter ever mailed to Santa in the North Pole," Grassette said.
What: Letters to Santa
When: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Nov. 29 (magic show at 1 p.m.)
Where: Mountain Valley High School
Activities: Magic show at 1 p.m.; bake sale, craft fair, music all day
Monday, October 20, 2008
Daryn Slover/ Lewiston Sun Journal
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| Scot Grassette takes measurements to find out what size envelope needs to be made in order to mail a 25 by 100 foot letter to Santa from Rumford on Sunday. The letter, shown here folded eight times, will be written on Nov. 29 at Mountain Valley High School. The letter - possibly the world's largest - was Grassette's idea as a way to raise money for the school's majorettes and Project Graduation. The letter will require an estimated 195 first-class stamps to mail to North Pole, Alaska, said Grassette. From left are: Chris Dickson, Mike Papsadora, Debbie Buotte and Grassette. Dickson, Papsadora and Grassette all work at the NewPage Corp. paper mill in Rumford. Buotte is the senior class advisor at MVHS. |
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
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(Grassette family photo)
Scot Grassette and his daughter, Kaitlyn, who is senior class president and captain of the majorettes, posed with the paper. By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff Of all the letters that Santa Claus gets in his mailbox, this one will likely stand out. In a big way. A Rumford, Maine, man is hoping to get into the Guinness Book of World Records by sending the largest single-page letter ever written. The letter, which will be a missive to Santa chock full of Christmas wishes, is expected to be 25 feet wide by 100 feet long. That's bigger than a volleyball court and about half the area of a basketball court. When folded up, it's expected to weigh 51 pounds. And it will require an estimated 195 first-class stamps to put in the mail. Scot Grassette, 42, an electrician at the NewPage Corp. paper plant in Rumford, said his company thought it was a "pretty crazy" idea but still donated the paper. Tony Lyons, a spokesman for the paper plant, said Grassette had been driving home from work one day trying to think of how to raise funds for school groups and activities his daughters are part of. "I think he suddenly had this big brainstorm," Lyons said. Lyons said the mill, which makes paper that is used for catalogues, magazines, and brochures, is already involved in a lot of outreach in the community, and it hoped that the letter project would "help the kids in the community have an understanding of the scope of what we do inside the mill." Grassette said the letter will be the centerpiece of a Nov. 29 benefit to raise money for his daughter's Mountain Valley High School majorette squad and for the senior class's "chemical-free" graduation party. During the benefit, the letter will be laid out on the floor of the school gymnasium. Students will write down their names and Christmas wishes and will be able to see "elves" write them on the paper in letters eight to 10 inches high. Grassette calculated that about 800 names and wishes will fit on the paper. He said he has three rolled-up pieces of the paper. One is for practice, one is for the real thing, and one, he said, "is just in case we mess something up." |
Saturday, November 29, 2008
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| Performers in the "Just Imagine" magic show take their bows to a big round of applause. Left to right: Dr. Wilson, Professor Miller, Santa Claus, Dennis Labbe, Kaitlyn Grassette, The Great Stephan, Scot Grassette. |
Saturday, November 29, 2008
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| Majorettes Krista Cote and Sara Gurney write names and wishes onto the giant letter. |
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| Majorette captains Kaitlyn Grassette and Rachel Boudreau send the huge letter to the North Pole. |
Thursday, December 4, 2008
(Photo by Scot Grassette)
"Elves" wrote people's names and Christmas wishes on the giant sheet of paper.
By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff
What may be the world's largest letter ever is on its way from Rumford, Maine, to Santa Claus's home in North Pole, Alaska, said Scot Grassette, who organized the letter-writing project.
Grassette's goal was to send the largest single-page letter ever written and get recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. The letter-writing event Saturday at the Mountain Valley High School gym was also a benefit that raised about $4,000 for his daughter's majorette squad.
The piece of paper was 131 feet long and more than 23 feet wide. A total of about 495 names and corresponding Christmas wishes were painted in large letters on the paper -- so many that the "elves" doing the painting had to flip the paper over and continue for 26 feet on the other side. The letter, folded up, weighed over 62 pounds and was mailed Monday with the help of 288 first-class stamps, Grassette said.
"The day was really, really nice. The kids that were there were just in awe, just seeing a piece of paper that big all in one piece," said Grassette, an electrician in the local NewPage Corp. paper mill who got his company to donate the paper.
By far the most popular wish was for world peace, Grassette, 42, said. Other people wished for cars and trucks.
But 250 people have been recently temporarily laid off from the mill and, in a sign of the times, some of the people -- there was no age limit on who could put a wish on the letter -- wished that they could be spared the layoffs.
"I kind of knew exactly where they were coming from because, like I said, I'm getting laid off myself and that would be a good Christmas present, not to get laid off," said Grassette, who expects to return to work in several weeks.
Tony Lyons, a spokesman for the mill, said the company was happy to help out with the fund-raiser. He said the layoffs, which were necessary because of the tough economic times, would last from Dec. 8 through Jan. 2.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
It's Arrived! What is thought to be the World's Largest Single Sheet Letter ever sent has been received by the Santa Claus House in North Pole, Alaska, on December 12, 2008. There will be an unveiling of the letter on Tuesday, December 22, at the North Pole middle school. Local and national press including Good Morning America and the Today Show are expected to cover the event which may air on Wednesday. Santa has had plenty of time to perform his magic and fulfill many of the wishes in time for Christmas.
The letter, which weighed 62 pounds and took 288 U.S.P.S. nutcracker stamps was 4775 times the size of a standard 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper, was part of a fundraiser for the Mountain Valley High School Majorettes.
A package was also sent to the Guinness Book of World's records with a request to create a new category for the World's Largest Single Sheet Letter ever written. Newspaper clippings and authorization by Rumford's Town Manager Len Greaney and Chairman of the selectman Arthur Boivin was also sent to the London publisher.
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| Santa, who was produced in virtual Snowstorm by the Magicians of the Society of American Magicians, marvels at the size of the giant letter on the November 29th fund raiser at the Mountain Valley High School in Rumford, Maine's Capital of Magic. |
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| MVHS majorettes Audrey Morin, Chelsea Bitondo, and Krista Cote help take air from the giant letter to Santa, which was boxed, sent, and received by the Santa Claus House in North Pole, Alaska. |
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| Mike Chaisson of the Pulp and Paperworker's Resource Council and volunteer Zach Grassette carry what is expected to be the largest single sheet letter ever written and sent out of the Mountain Valley High School which was boxed, sent, and received by the Santa Claus House in North Pole, Alaska. |
By Eileen M. Adams, Staff Writer/
Lewiston Sun-Journal
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
RUMFORD - Santa is all set to open up and read what Scot Grassette hopes is the world's largest letter Tuesday morning at North Pole, Alaska.
Lots of local and national media are expected to be on hand when the event takes place, said Paul Brown, operations manager of the Santa Claus House, which is where thousands of letters to Santa are delivered each year.
"We've never had anything near that big," said Brown of the 24- by 131-foot letter mailed on Dec. 1 from the Rumford Post Office. "It's caused quite a buzz."
The largest letter ever delivered until now to North Pole was poster-sized at 24- by 36-inches, signed by a class of youngsters, he said.
The giant letter is the brainchild of Scot Grassette, a magician and NewPage Corp. paper worker from Rumford. He began planning the letter in October as a fundraiser for the Mountain Valley High School majorette team. His daughter is the team's captain.
Grassette said he received a phone call from North Pole when the letter arrived on Dec. 12, and Brown said it has been stored in a warehouse since its arrival.
Grassette organized a fundraiser at the end of November that included a magic show, food sales and other events. Nearly 500 people made requests, which were listed on the letter by majorettes dressed as elves.
The event raised about $3,000 for the team
The 62-pound letter required 288 first class nutcracker Christmas stamps to get to Alaska.
Grassette is also trying to get a new category listed in the Guinness List of World Records - that of largest, single-page letter.
The paper was donated by NewPage Corp.
He sent all the necessary documentation to the London organization at about the time the huge letter was mailed to Santa. He said Monday afternoon that he won't know if the letter will be listed by Guinness until early next year.
All along the way, local media, several newspapers in Massachusetts, The Associated Press, and the television show "Good Morning America" have covered the letter's development.
Brown said a Los Angeles video team attends events at the North Pole every year. Grassette's letter to Santa will likely make the news throughout the country. He said it may appear on Wednesday morning's "Good Morning America" or on the "Today" show.
He said the Santa Claus House supports Grassette's hope of getting into the Guinness Book of World Records and has submitted certification of the letter. North Pole, Alaska, has an appropriate honor for itself - the world's largest statue of Santa listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.
It is 42 feet tall, not including its 8-foot pedestal, and weighs 900 pounds. The statue made its initial appearance at the Seattle World's Fair in 1962.
North Pole, Alaska, is the official site for receiving letters to Santa. Brown said mail was up this year, with many requests to bring mommy or daddy home from Iraq or Afghanistan.
Each letter is read by Santa or his elves then posted in the Santa Claus House.
Grassette is thrilled with the nationwide response he and the majorettes have received because of the letter.
"It has created a memory," he said of the day when children added their names to the letter.
By Ted Land,
KTUU.com, Alaska's News Source
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
ANCHORAGE, Alaska-- An extremely large letter was delivered to the North Pole last week from the state of Maine.
It's part of a project to write the largest single-page letter ever, and hopes to be recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. The paper inside the package is 131 feet long and more than 23 feet wide, with almost 500 names and Christmas wishes inside.
"It took a lot of elves about 12 to 14 elves to carry this thing over here," Santa said.
The letter took nearly 300 stamps to send.
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| An extremely large letter was delivered to the North Pole last week from the state of Maine. (KTUU-TV) | The letter took nearly 300 stamps to send. (KTUU-TV) |
By Eileen M. Adams, Staff Writer/
Lewiston Sun-Journal
Thursday, January 8, 2009
RUMFORD - Scot Grassette hopes everyone got what they asked from Santa this year, particularly those who took part in the 100- by 25-foot letter that was shipped to the North Pole right after Thanksgiving.
Grassette's efforts to get what he is sure is the world's largest single page letter into the Guinness Book of World Records failed.
There is no such category and the organization isn't interested in making one, it said.
He received an e-mail from the London-based recorder of the biggest, smallest, longest and tallest whatever Monday when he returned to work at NewPage Corp.
"Whether they accepted it or not, I still believe it's the world's largest letter. Because they didn't accept it doesn't affect what has happened and what is," he said late Wednesday afternoon. "What came from the event, the magic, can't be taken away."
Hundreds of people lined up at the Mountain Valley High School gymnasium on Nov. 29 to make their wishes known. Elves, also known as the high school's majorettes, wrote each wish on a single sheet of paper supplied by NewPage Corp.
All 62 pounds of it, requiring 288 first class stamps, was mailed to North Pole, Alaska, which is the official location of all mail sent to Santa.
Grassette's attempt was covered by local newspapers as well as by newspapers from around the eastern part of the United States. Local and national television programs also covered the event.
The day-long event, which also included a magic show, and bake and craft sales, raised $3,000 for the high school majorette team.
Grassette is grateful for the support he and the majorettes' efforts received to get into the Guinness Book. The manager of North Pole, Alaska, submitted letters of support, as did municipal and other leaders from the area.
Grassette and the letter's supporters were trying to establish a new category in the Guinness Book of World Records. The e-mail from the organization simply said it was not interested in the new category.
The e-mail also suggested that Grassette try to beat the world's record for largest greeting card.
Grassette said he won't be trying that because such an entry must be able to stand on its own and be rigid. He did receive, however, another idea for getting the spotlight on the letter to Santa from an acquaintance.
He plans to submit documentation to Ripley's Believe It Or Not. That paperwork goes out on Thursday.
"It would be really cool if it was in a book," he said.
Grassette, an amateur magician, has lots of other ideas for drawing attention to Rumford, but he's not talking about them right now.
The letter was a positive experience for so many people, he believes.
"It created a lasting memory in the hearts and minds of the children of Western Maine. It was well worth the effort," he said.
February 28, 2009
RUMFORD - Scot Grassette announced the The Book of Alternative Records Accepted the record for the World's Largest Letter to Santa.