PITTSFIELD – The town of Pittsfield, local newspapers and San Antonio Shoe have been overwhelmed this week with hundreds of messages of goodwill from people all over the country.

The hubbub is in response to SAS’ holiday gift to its 200 Pittsfield employees last Friday: $1,000 for every year of work. Some employees’ received the maximum of $19,000, while even those working less than a year received $500.

After the story was first printed in the Bangor Daily News last Saturday, it was carried across the country by The Associated Press and mentioned Tuesday night by Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News.

“The phone has been ringing off the hook,” said Angie Curtis at SAS’ Pittsfield facility on Wednesday. Curtis normally works on the production floor, but was pulled into the office to handle the overwhelming number of calls. The most-asked question was, “Where can I buy SAS shoes?” as those touched by the story wanted to show their support.

“We have received calls from Alaska, California, Michigan, all across the U.S.,” said Curtis. “We’re pretty much in shock over here.”

Even U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe will be visiting the Pittsfield facility this afternoon to congratulate the company and its workers.

Pittsfield town office workers got so many calls and e-mails over the past few days that they began tracking the messages on a U.S. map and posted information on where to buy SAS shoes on the town’s Web site (Lamey Wellehan and The Walk Shop in Bangor).

By Wednesday afternoon, there were 18 states, India and the Middle East marked on the town office map. And the calls were still coming.

Dale M. Herder, a professor of English in Laingsburg, Mich., wrote to the town: “The generosity of San Antonio Shoe in Pittsfield is remarkable, and this generosity demonstrates the finest values in our country (and in enlightened capitalism). At a time when hundreds of American companies are sending jobs to India and other places around the global village to make greater profits, your town has become symbolic of what old-fashioned values and common sense should and can do for the good of our own citizens.

“SAS corporate leadership has sent three messages that the cynics around the world who hate the U.S. need to hear: We are a nation of good, decent, and generous people; we do not all live a life of shallow greed; and some people – and companies – put others first. Well done, SAS, and well done, SAS employees!”

Cara Harrington of Vermont wrote, “I felt such pride and respect for a company I had never heard of before. Not only did they share company profits with their employees, they showed their employees that they are valued and appreciated. We hear every day of factories closing, jobs eliminated, displacing hard working Americans only to employ people outside of our country so companies can enjoy a greater profit. I had never heard of the San Antonio Shoe Co. before, but I can tell you that name will never escape me. ”

Teresa Alexander of Prescott, Ariz., commented, “When you see a company like this one, that graciously treats their employees with kindness and dignity, it needs to be spotlighted. You have restored my faith in corporate America.”

Kelly Feazelle in North Carolina wrote, “It’s unbelievably uplifting to know that there really ARE good people in the world, and some of them are actually in the corporate world. More than anything else, I wanted them to know what a great thing they’ve done, even for those of us that DON’T work there. What a lovely little present from strangers. Some of us needed to hear something really good for once, and this just topped it for me.”

Pittsfield Town Manager Kathryn Ruth said the town office – and even her home phone – has been inundated with messages of support for SAS.

“The fact that people would take the time to send an e-mail message, place a call or write a letter regarding SAS reflects the good will and thoughts that people have for their neighbors across the country,” said Ruth. “We have heard over and over again how the good old-fashioned values are still alive in the country and how wonderful it is that a business would reward its employees’ loyalty with such a generous gift! People are reporting that they are sending the stories in the newspaper to their friends all across the world.

“I’m sure that when SAS was able to realize [its] dream for their employees that they never thought anything like this outpouring of thanks from people across the nation would take place! Wow, you just feel great about the world from reading the messages,” said Ruth.