Balloon Life,July 2000

12

Ballooning is full of warm wonderful expe-riences,
many have been chronicled in the pages ofBalloon
Life.InlateAprilthemagazinereceivedavery
touching story about a young girl who had turned a
class project into a rich and rewarding experience.
The contributor had beentouchedby trials of the
familyandhowballooninghadopenedawhole
new windowof opportunity. Opportunity provided
by the generosity of balloonist and spread by use of
the Internet.
The story begins with a mother, “Linda,” who
has medical problems and a slim chance to live. She
takeshereightyearolddaughtertothe1998
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta to have a
goodtime andcreatesomewonderfulmemories.
Uponreturninghome themotherundergoessur-
geryand, miraculously,survives.
In the fallof 1999, the daughter, “Martha,” is
givena classproject. Mrs.Davis, her sixthgrade
teacher, tells the students they are to select a hobby
ofcollectibles,somethingofinterestthatthey
couldaccumulateatthebeginningofthenew
millenniumandcarrywiththemintoadulthood.
They were to use the computer to learn more about
their subjects and to expandtheir collections.
RecallingthewonderfulexperienceofBal-
loonFiesta “Martha” settledon ballooningasher
subject. Insurfingthe Internet for balloon-related
sites,“Martha”cameacrossGeorgiaballoonist
Bob Tettman. She wrote him a brief note about her
school project and wondered if he might be able to
assisther.
Obligingly, Bob sent“Martha” some balloon
cards,butthenhegavehersomuchmore.He
posted her request onto the Internet balloonmail-
inglist,reachingmorethaneighthundredother
balloonists. “Martha” was about to collect far more
than cards. She wasabouttostrike gold.
Althoughherrequestforhelponaschool
project was hardly unusual—balloonists frequently
receive such inquiries—the little girl’s response to
any helpshe received was extraordinary. Whether
she obtained information, a picture, a pin or a card,
“Martha” eagerly typed a most gracious thank-you
note. Her messages were filled with politeness, wit

andgratitude, andtheyendedwithasmiley-face
emoticon. Whenever email wouldn’t do, “Martha”
handwroteandmailedherthank-younotes.It
wasn’t the request for help that was unique, but the
little girl whoissuedit.
“Martha”wrotetovirtuallyeveryonewho
contactedher,profoundlygratefulforthetime,
effortandinterestshownbystrangerswhomshe
would call herballoonist friends. Information about
ballooning was as welcomed as a pin or a card, and
she never failed to acknowledge it. With each note,
the young enthusiastdelivered respect and sincer-
itythat often prompted further correspondence.

You have made my project the best. I thought
I wouldlike tocollect balloo n pins and cards an d
I do, but I like allmynew friendsthe best.
Soon,snippetsof“Martha’s”messagesap-
pearedon the balloon mailing list, as contributors
toherprojectsharedwithotherballoonistsher
thoughtful replies. Her engaging personalitydrew
the attention and response from still more balloon-
ists, who themselves added messages and memora-
bilia to her collection. Severalballoonistsoffered
tosponsor the Meltons’ nextvisittoFiesta, when
“Linda”recoversenoughtotravel.Otherinvita-
tions were extended to tour a balloon factory and to
be theguestofhonor ata balloonrallyinNorth
Carolina.
“Martha’s”supplyofballoonitemsgrew
quickly,including349pins,469cards,stickers,
photos,patches,banners,calendars,keychains,
magnets, postcards, pictures,clothing, books, mugs,
posters,aballoonkit,signedballoonmail,an
autographed copy ofNational Geographicsigned
by PiccardandJoneswiththeBreitling Orbiter 3
story, andmore.
“Martha”repo rtedtohernewballoo ning
friendsthatshenotonlyreceivedanA+forher
project, but won nine out of ten awards presented in
avarietyofcategories.DuringtheSpringterm
“Martha” put on a tissue paper balloon demonstra-
tionfor her school.
Such astory certainly deserves to be illustrated
withphotographicdocumentation.InlateMayI

Class Project

by
Tom Hamilton

Generosity of balloonists from around the world lead to
a very successful project. Unfortunately it wasn’t the
project that everyone thought it was.

Balloon Life,July2000

14

receivedwordbackfrom theauthorthattheMelton’s
camera, and all the photographs for the story, had
beenstolen.Unfortunatelytherewouldnot be
pictures to accompany thearticle.This seemed
strange.
Severalweeks later I reviewedthe story again,
preparing to use it in the magazine. Rereading the
articleIhadafew morequestions. Something
didn’t feel right. I asked the author to find out the
name of the school.
The same day I had occasion totalk withDon
Piccard who has been following the Internet saga.
The storyhas taken a bizarre twist andhe had
becomevery suspicious.A messageby another
member of the list questioning the legitimacy of
“Martha” was forwarded to me.
The name of the school was reported back as
KingIntermediate School inKing, North Carolina.
AnInternetsearchdid notreveal thatsucha school
existed. A callwas placed tothe reference librarian
in King, North Carolina requesting assistance in
locatingthe school. The librarianwasmosthelpful.
KingIntermediate School, a K-6, was renamed Mt.
Olive Elementary, K-5, a few years earlier when
theschooldistrict went toa Middle Schoolsystem.
AllsixthgradersnowattendChestnutGroveMiddle
School.
Don Piccard,at my request,forwarded the
entire collection of messages regarding “Martha”
and her project from the balloonmailinglistto me.
Reading them as a collective body of work, with
posts fromboth “Martha” and “Linda,” created
more questions. A copy of a check paying for two
balloon pinsback in December from “Martha Ann
Melton” wasfaxed tomeon request fromthe
person askingif “Martha”is a realchild.The check
has the same name and address as the “ten year old
girl.” But, with a North Carolina driver’s license
number.
“Martha’s” story is very elaborate, but begin-
ning to unravel very quickly.
A call is placed to the school district office.
Verificationof the studentwillvalidateor discredit
the story. Dr. Ron Carroll, Assistant Superinten-
dentof SchoolsforStokesCounty, North Carolina,
listens with great interest to the details and prom-
ises to get back with an answer. He confirms the
historyof the schoolnames. He mentionsthat King
Intermediate didhave a Mrs. Davies whotaughtthe
sixthgrade, but is long retired. The middle school
currently has a Mrs. Davis teaching on staff. Nei-
ther oftheirfirst names matches that givenby
“Linda.”
While waiting for Dr. Carroll’s answer more
evidence comes tolight. “Linda” has mailed a
photocopyof a picture from theschoolyear bookof
“Martha” at the request Tina Reeves for an article
in the Junior BalloonistNewsletter. A copy of the

note, written incursive by “Linda,” isfaxed to me.
The handwritingisidenticaltothe check written by
“Martha” in December.
Dr. Carroll reports back that he can find no
student in the recent past by the name of Martha
Melton in the public school system.He further
agrees that it is highly unlikely that a ten year old
would have just completed the sixth grade.
Evidencegatheredwasturnedoverto the
criminal investigation division ofKing County.
Martha Ann Melton was contacted by the police
and confessed to the scam. Linda was her sister’s
name and owned the computer used for emailing.
There was no ten year old girl, Martha is a 46 year
oldadult. The strange twistin the story that devel-
oped in mid-June was designed as an exitstrategy,
the story was becoming to complex.
Lt.Knappswith thecriminal investigation
division requested that Martha bring everything
she received by mail to him. The entire collection
is to bereturnedto Bob Tettman.Tettman has
requested that those who contributed items and
would like them returned to contact him (see con-
tactinformationatthe endof the story).Peoplewho
sentcheckstoMartha willbe receivingtheirmoney
back from the police department who has recov-
ered the money. Items not claimed will likely be
auctioned off andthe proceedsusedto benefita yet
to be named ballooning charity.
Tettman broke the news tothe balloonmailing
list, feeling responsible since he had first passed
Martha’snote on to the group. Bobreports thatshe
toldtheinvestigator, “shestartedthe wholethingas
a way to meet friends over the Internet. She says
that the whole thing grew out of control...”
Boththe District Attorney’s office for Stokes
County and the Federal Government are now in-
vestigating to see if the case warrants charges for
both mail and Internet fraud.
As Tettman reported to the balloon list, “The
donationsthatwere givento‘Martha’were made in
the sincere ‘from-your-hearts’ spiritthatis present
in the ballooning community. Maybe we can still
make somethinggoodcome of allthisand chalkthe
bittersweet experience of ‘Martha’ up to lessons
learned.”

Kathy Smith, Susan Owen, Tina Reeves, Don
Piccard, and Bob Tettman, contributed to this
story.

Ifyou contributeditems to MarthaMelton
contactBobTettman,2029CrystalLakeDr.,
Lawrenenceville,GA 30044-3872,phone: 770-
963-0149,
email: AdVenturesAloft@compuserve.com.

An
elaborate
story
with too
many
loose
ends
resulted
in a
failure.