What started out as a misunderstanding could turn into Arnold’s newest Christmas event.
The free event will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on Rankin Street near H.D. Berkey Elementary School.
Lebert, 45, of Fawn placed a decorative “Santa Mail” mailbox outside the home of his mother, Pam Moses, on Rankin Street across from the elementary school in 2019. First grade teacher Mick Dombroski saw it, had his 19 students write letters to Santa and walked his class over to drop their letters inside.
Lebert found the letters on the ground under the box, which had no bottom. The mailbox was merely a decoration and wasn’t meant to actually hold letters.
But “Santa” answered every letter, and Lebert, the good elf that he is, took them to the school.
He’s been doing it every year since. The number of letters more than doubled to 44 in 2020. After TribLive told Lebert’s story in 2021, the number of letters skyrocketed to nearly 400 in 2021 and 628 in 2022. There were 587 letters last year.
With the interest growing, Lebert wanted a real mailbox for its sixth year.
“I knew that the mailbox that I was using, being a decoration, wouldn’t be able to take the abuse for much longer,” he said. “I wanted to get a real mailbox that could take the abuse.”
Lebert found and bought a green relay mailbox from an antique dealer in Altoona. Made by Van Dorn Iron Works of Cleveland, it dates to 1930. Relay boxes, used by mail carriers, don’t have pull-down letter slots, so Lebert added one. With a post on Facebook, he was able to get enough donations to pay for it within a day.
Lebert took the box to the Northern Westmoreland Career & Technology Center, where students in Jim Salem’s auto body class stripped, filled, welded, sanded and painted it. They also refined the letter slot.
When it arrived at the school, “it looked like it fell off the back of a truck,” Salem said.
He compared the project to working on a miniature car.
“It was perfect for auto body shop. This was just like restoring a classic car,” Salem said. “I got to go through most of my curriculum on this box.”
It took his students, four in particular, two or three months to get the mailbox in shape. Those primarily involved are Burrell’s Morgan Colledge, 18, and Brandon Grimm, 15, and Kiski Area’s Heavnli Hall, 16, and Gavin Fowkes, 18.
“The innocence this brings to the community is beautiful. It’s magic,” said Jason Hicks, director of Northern Westmoreland.
Lebert was, to put it mildly, impressed with their work.
“That looks awesome,” he said when he saw it for the first time Monday, while it was inside the paint booth.
“It looks fabulous. People are going to be amazed.”
Children attending the Saturday, Nov. 30, event will be able to write letters to Santa, using forms that will be available, and be among the first to place them in the new mailbox. Letters need to be submitted by Dec. 20, when the box will be taken down.
Letters must have the child’s name and address clearly written for responses from Santa, with Lebert’s help, to be received.
Santa is expected to attend and be available for photos. There will be cookies, chocolate, hot chocolate and cider, along with face painting and a DJ playing Christmas music.
Tickets for auction baskets will cost $10 per sheet of 25 tickets, with one ticket being for the door prize of a turkey from Pounds’ Turkey Farm. Each family will get one free ticket for a chance at one of 20 $15 Giant Eagle gift cards. Toys for Tots will give each child a ticket for a chance to win a Nintendo Switch.
Rankin Street will be closed between Leishman and Victoria avenues, and a parking lot at H.D. Berkey will be used.
“We don’t know what to expect,” Lebert said. “We’re going to do our best.”
Arnold Mayor Shannon Santucci has known Lebert for about 20 years.
“I think it’s phenomenal. I’m so excited. He’s so excited,” she said of her friend. “He’s very generous, and he just really has a good heart. I can see him doing this for a long time.”