Janice Phillips of Westfield poses with her Flat Stanley cutout which she received from her great-granddaughter last week. (Photo by Peter Francis)
WESTFIELD – For Janice Phillips, it’s like having another great-grandchild coming to visit on vacation.
“I’ve been taking him around Westfield and the surrounding areas to learn about Massachusetts,” she said enthusiastically yesterday.
Her “great-grandchild” is a paper cutout of Flat Stanley, the title character of a 1964 children’s book which has lived on thanks to a program created in the mid-’90s where schoolchildren send cutouts of the character to others, which helps them work on their writing skills.
Started in 1995 by Dale Hubert, a third grade teacher in Ontario, Canada, the project has taken off worldwide, with Flat Stanley projects taking place in over 6,500 classrooms in over 40 countries around the globe.
Phillips, who has lived in Westfield for 20 years, received her Flat Stanley in an envelope last Friday from her great-granddaughter Hailey, who lives in the Tacoma, Washington area.
“Her twin brother Brock sent his to his aunt in Michigan,” Phillips said as she held the flat paper boy in her right hand. “We’ve visited the Basketball Hall of Fame, the Dr. Seuss Museum, and the Springfield Armory.”
Flat Stanley befriends a shop owner in Kano, Nigeria. (Wikipedia)
A former schoolteacher who taught fourth grade for 35 years, Phillips is well aware of the value of the project, and is keeping a journal of her travels with her new friend, which is one of the tenants of the project.
“There are 24 kids in her class, and not too many of them went outside of Washington,” she said, before referencing upcoming expeditions she has planned for her visitor. “He doesn’t know it yet, but we’re going on a YMCA trip Friday to a sugar house in New Hampshire.”
Phillips is excited to showcase Massachusetts and other parts of New England to Stanley not just to document and share another part of the country with her great-granddaughter’s class, but also to gain a new appreciation for the special corner of the country where she has chosen to live.
Flat Stanley on Miami Beach (wikipdia)
“We’re also going to Anheuser-Busch Brewery to see the Clydesdale horses Friday, and an Italian cafe to get cannolis,” Phillips said. “This is going to be a great diet day!”
Stanley, who is supposed to be returned to Tacoma in his envelope today, but due to impending weather conditions, is staying for a little while longer, has spent a considerable amount of time during the past week learning about Massachusetts, the state which President Barack Obama famously said “invented America”, and one which very few of her great-granddaughter’s classmates have ever visited.
“When we have time, we like to go on the computer and research,” she said. “I’m sending back information with him on the constitution and the men from Massachusetts who signed it, and he’ll share all he’s collected with the class. It’s sort of like a vicarious trip for them (the students).”
Among other items Stanley will be returning to the Evergreen State with include an autograph from US Olympic Hockey star Kacey Bellamy, who he is “excited to meet” according to Phillips.
“He’s going to go back to Washington in a box,” she said cheerily.
“It’s helped me investigate things that are so close,” she said. “You always do the faraway things, so I’m learning about things also, right along with him.”
