When Stetson Holston decided to write a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to be his role model, his mother and grandmother did not think he would get a reply. Boy, were they surprised. ’He wasn’t here when it came,’ said his grandmother Hattie Holston. ‘When we told him he had a package that wouldn’t fit in the mailbox and it was a real surprise, he didn’t catch on until he opened it.’ Stetson said he thought it was a video game or other item related to his game player, which come routinely. ’I was shocked,’ he said. The Lamar County Elementary School third grader had written the letter Jan. 29, two days after his ninth birthday. The reply came April 12. In all, Stetson got a letter ‘“ it cannot be copied so it is suspected the signature may be real ‘“ and lots of other goodies including a map of the White House. Stetson had asked if it was the biggest house in the world. He also got a pamphlet on the art that hangs in the White House. ’I also asked how many rooms there were,’ said Stetson, who is the son of Antiqua Holston. There is one thing Stetson did not get, an RSVP to come attend his church with him, Sardis Baptist led by Rev. Clarence Norris. ’My pastor might let you preach because everyone would rather hear you,’ Stetson wrote. ’The funny part is that’s probably true,’ laughed Hattie. He also expressed a desire to play with the First Dog Bo, a Portuguese water dog who was born in Texas and given to the Obamas by a Democratic senator. In return, he received a pamphlet on a day of the life of Bo and a collectors card that noted the fact that Bo, despite his breed name, cannot swim. The card, much like a baseball card, had other information about Bo too. All this swag from the White House came to the attention of Fox 5 News, who showed up in force to interview Stetson. Most of the neighbors came out to see what was going on. ’People have stopped me to say how nice it was to have some good news about Barnesville after all the bad things that have been going on,’ said Hattie. ‘It turns out Stetson is one of the first African American boys in our area to have written the president and received a reply.’
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