We have set the date for our hoped-for completion and dedication at Friday, February 29th at 10:00 am at the base of the SnowWoman! We hope everyone will come and celebrate with us! If you can not come that day…she will be standing grand and tall for many weeks, until she starts to melt!

We tried to find someone to renew their vows on top of the SnowWoman pile, to no avail…but the volunteers had a great time anyway! Bob and Joan Westfall, new residents of Bethel, spent their Valentine’s Day together shoveling and stomping! How romantic…. Today, Feb. 15th the volunteers worked hard and filled two forms…great job! Jim and Mandy Sysko, our crew “chiefs” are really providing terrific leadership with the volunteers, the Bancroft Contracting crane operators and the Savage Contracting trucks bringing snow in from the Bethel Airport.

Progress has seemed slow…but the first few layers are really big and require a lot of snow, and shoveling. Now that we are on to the 8th form, the SnowWoman’s body is getting more slender, and the progress skyward will be faster. We estimate that we are now at almost 56′…almost half way! She is about ready to get her first “button,” a skidder tire that will be added later. A four foot “log” will be embedded in the current layer to secure the tire when it is added.

We have had so much help on this project from the business community and volunteers…it has just been incredible! We have had fuel donations from Irving Oil, Woodstock & Burke Oil, Dead River Co., Brooks Bros., C.N. Brown Co., and Dixfield Discount Fuel. Equipment donations have been provided by Bancroft Contracting, Sunday River Ski Resort, D.A. Wilson Co., United Rentals, NES Rentals, ProQuip Rentals, Trask-Decrow Machinery, Norsemen Cycles, Bethel Inn Nordic Ski Center, Cross Excavation, Savage Contracting, Central Maine Power, Snap Electric, Western Maine Supply, Oxford Networks and the Town of Bethel.

The volunteers are working hard and we are happy to feed them with the help of our chamber members. We are still seeking food donations for the next ten days, but so far, we’d like to thank: The Inn at the Rostay, Pat’s Pizza, Subway, Victoria Inn & Restaurant, Marta’s Bakery, Briar Lea/Jolly Drayman, L’Auberge Bistro, S.S. Milton, Good Food Store, Sassafras Market, and Crossroads Diner. Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Northern New England has provided all the cold beverages and Rooster’s Roadhouse is supplying the hot beverages.

The SnowWoman’s hat is done! The students at Mt. Valley Middle School in Mexico had a ton of fun measuring, cutting and sewing the giant fleece hat! Check out the photos.

Volunteers put in a great day building the next layer of the soon to be World’s Tallest SnowWoman! If you haven’t stopped by to join in the fun yet, come on down!

Team Work!

Nothin’ But Fun!

Amazing Views From Up Here

ESPECIALLY THIS WEEKEND!

We are looking for help from 8am - 5pm every day.

Any amount of time is welcome!

• Bring a shovel, if you can.
• Bring a helmet if you have one — hard hat, bicycle helmet, ski helmet, rollerblade helmet — you get the idea.
• Dress appropriately.
• At some point stop in the chamber office and sign a liability form.

Check out the progress on the webcam.

We have coffee, hot chocolate, and tea here in the office to warm up with.

If you can help, please let us know so we can try not to have everyone helping all at once. BUT if it’s early in the morning and you want to come over, just do so!

Julia Reuter
Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce
207.824.2282

Layer Two

There is no lack of snow in Bethel Maine for the making of the World’s Tallest SnowWoman! And we couldn’t be happier! With yesterday’s snowfall, more today and more tomorrow… our winter playground is plentiful!

Alan Rowe in the Sunday River Snow Groomer

Bancroft Crane, Driven by Rick L’Heureux and say Hi to Billy Murphy!

Sunday River Snow Groomer

The crews are on site and the snow shaping fun has begun!
Check out the SnowWoman Webcam for up to date images!

Jim Bennett and his bulldozer.

Mike Bennett and son.

Jim Sysko, Mandy Sysko Ottone

Monday, Feb. 4th - The 150 ft. Bancroft Contracting crane has arrived as has the 120 ft. United Rentals man-lift. The Bethel Inn Nordic Ski Center has donated the use of their grooming vehicle for the day to start pushing the snow up, before the manual work begins to build our snowlady skyward. Many contractors have lined up to help us…DA Wilson Co. has donated site work and trucking, Savage Contracting has donated a port-a-pottie and will be helping with trucking, Cross Excavation is helping with trucking, the Town of Bethel has been a big help, ProQuip Rentals donated the use of a generator and will be bringing some tower lights for us, Trask-Decrow Machinery has donated the use of a compressor, NES Rentals provided us the big three phase generator and Sunday River Ski Resort donated the use of the snowmaking system and personnel, utilizing the new Boyne fan gun technology. Jim Bennett from Norsemen Cycles and Computer Solutions of Maine has been pivotal in the logistics so far as has Jim Sysko, our chief engineer. Ed Swain brought us some hay for insulation of the snowmaking pipe from his farm in Bethel and he has also helped with the snowmaking. We have many people already to thank and the significant part of the manual volunteer work has yet to begin!!!

The SnowWoman is going to have a HEART!!! Local citizen, Musa Brown, is making her a heart from a piece of the World Tallest Snowman’s scarf! The heart will be buried in her chest, as it should be. The Mt. Valley Middle School students are working on her hat and the SAD #44 elementary school students are making her nose. Jim Mann, from Mt. Mann Jewelers and his staff are making her “chief adornment,” a 6 ft. snowflake pendant made from Maine mica. It will really be one of the highlights of this project.

Stay tuned for more updates and watch the live webcam for her progress!

Blowing snow night and day is continuing. Today, Friday, Feb. 1, 2008, the workers are making snow in the snow! Yahoo!

They have been making snow for a week now and have a hopeful start-to-build date of Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 5th, weather permitting.

SHOVEL/STOMP jobs:
Tentatively looking for Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2-5pm; Wednesday, Feb. 6, 8-11, 11-2, 2-5; Thursday, Feb. 7, 8-11, 11-2, 2-5; Friday, Feb. 8, 8-11, 11-2, 2-5.

If you can help, or will sell souvenirs/answer questions/direct traffic later down the road, email info@bethelmaine.com or call 207.824.2282. (Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce)

As you may or may not be aware, we are looking for about 25 people at a time to help with the shoveling and stomping. Please dress appropriately with gloves, and insulated boots; also please bring a shovel with you! We will be working on it from 8am until 5pm everyday. We are hoping people can give 3 hours at a time, but, if not, we appreciate any amount of time you can give. People with children helping should plan on helping shovel and stomp early on — there will be a point in which we will not be allowed to have children help with this aspect of the project.

We have a great start on the 12,000,000 lbs. of snow that we will need to make this 120 ft. snow lady!

Sunday River Ski Resort, NES Rentals, Trask Decrow Machinery, D.A. Wilson Company, the Swain Farm, Central Maine Power, and Snap Electric have all provided equipment and services to help our designer and engineer, Jim Sysko and logistics men, Ed Swain and Jim Bennett to undertake this phase of the project. Bancroft Contracting will be moving their 150’ crane on to the lot in the next couple of days and United Rentals will be bringing in their 120 ft. man-lift to help with the upward construction, which is due to start next Monday, Feb. 4th. Celebration/dedication date will be announced soon!