Caroline Kennedy Meets Woman Who Penned Famous Santa Letter
Caroline Kennedy and Michelle Rochon Phillips meet for the first time.
Dec. 24, 2007 — -- Forty-six years after her letter about Santa's fate grabbed the nation's attention, Michelle Rochon finally met Caroline Kennedy on "Good Morning America."
It was the first time the two women had ever come in contact with each another since Rochon's 1961 letter to President Kennedy made her a national sensation.
"Dear Mr. Kennedy, please stop the Russians from bombing the North Pole because they will kill Santa Claus," the then 8-year-old's note stated so innocently in response to the news the Russians were testing bombs in the Artic, not far from St. Nick's North Pole home.
"I was just worried about Santa Claus," Rochon said, "worried about my Christmas."
Rochon's letter became part of Caroline Kennedy's 2007 book "A Family Christmas," which is a collection of Christmas-related poems, prose, letters and other writings most dear to Caroline Kennedy. Even during her book tour people wondered whether she had ever met Rochon.
"People were asking me about it all the time," said Caroline Kennedy, who also wondered what happened to Rochon. "I went to Michigan, and I was thinking, 'Well, maybe she still lives here.'"
The women finally met on "Good Morning America," because Rochon saw the show on which Kennedy discussed the letter as she promoted her new book. When the two were introduced, their enthusiasm and incredulity was difficult to deny.
"I can't believe this all happened," Rochon said.
"It was so great when, when you contacted the show," Kennedy said.
Rochon, whose full name today is Michelle Rochon Phillips, said she still remembered writing the letter that generated so much attention.
"We were at the dinner table, and my parents were talking about the nuclear testing at the North Pole," Rochon said. "I thought, 'Well, Santa Claus.' And so I ran -- sat down at the footstool and wrote the letter."
The then-Michigan resident, who moved to Florida three years ago, had no idea what type of cord her simple memo would strike, as the country was at the height of the Cold War. But she was excited to receive the president's response.
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