Schenectady

Scott Lobdell held up a handwritten letter to Santa Claus from Hannah, a girl in Syracuse with a brother named Alec, the same names as his two children.

"It's obviously an older sister because she says, 'I'm particularly hard on my brother,' and my kids are the same way. I have an older daughter and a younger son, so it's kind of cool," said Lodbell, 45. "It's probably one of the more rewarding things I do during the holiday season because I get to read all kinds of different letters from people in different areas of the world."

Lobdell was one of dozen or so employees Monday at the General Electric plant off Erie Boulevard who spent their lunch break sitting around a conference room table opening and answering letters from mostly good little boys and girls asking for everything from a Julia Child cookbook on French cuisine to Legos to the holiday wish from a foster child from Schenectady to be with his biological family.

Last Christmas, among the 1,443 letters responded to was one written in a code, which a volunteer deciphered. In recent years, the group has been getting and answering letters from China.

The letters starting arriving at the plant after the facility acquired the 12345 ZIP code, which is the same as Santa's at the North Pole.

In 1994, a group of GE volunteers got together and began helping the Schenectady post office by receiving and responding to the letters.

Darlene Muscanell, who serves as the head elf in the de facto GE workshop, has been a volunteer for more than two decades.

Besides asking for presents, Muscanell said young letter writers sometimes include drawings and goodies and have a knack for telling it like it is.

"They'll be honest, if they're bad, or what they did to their brothers or sisters, and they'll say, 'I'm sorry and I'm going to behave,' " said Muscanell, an administrative assistant for GE's onshore wind business. "They'll ask how the reindeer are, they'll ask what kind of cookies Santa likes, they'll ask for Rudolph and the elves, and for kids that are less fortunate."

She chuckled as she recalled the little girl, about 4 years old, who wanted Santa to send her blonde hair dye.

Not all the letters are whimsical.

Ken Johnson, an engineer and program manager, recalled reading a letter from a 54-year-old man hoping for a "Christmas miracle" that his wife would beat cancer because "they have so many plans."

Muscanell said that they use one of three different form letters, which in part explain the meaning of Christmas.

"Keep the true spirit of Christmas in your heart — helping others," reads one of the letters that goes on to urge the child to leave some milk and cookies for Santa because "I get hungry on a long journey!"

The group started opening the letters on Dec. 5 and Muscanell estimates when they're done, they will have answered 1,200 letters.

"It really puts such a crazy time of year — you're hectic and running around — and this really just helps put it all in perspective," said Muscanell. "Once you do it you're hooked."

pnelson@timesunion.com • 518-454-5347 • @apaulnelson