Be Kind Acton Campaign Brings Positivity, Honors Big Bird Creator

ACTON, MA — In the months following the death of Caroll Spinney, the puppeteer who brought Sesame Street’s Big Bird to life, Mike Majors began to think about how the legacy of one of Acton’s most famous citizens could live on for years to come.

But when the coronavirus pandemic put any concrete plans for local community programs to honor Spinney's global influence on hold, Majors —who serves on a four-person committee dedicated to honoring Spinney’s accomplishments — kept coming back to the positive messages Spinney conveyed to children around the world through his towering yellow-feathered friend and how similar ideas could be shared around Acton.

The committee, which also includes Acton residents Karen Herther, Jennifer Friedman and Dean Charter,recently unveiled the Be Kind Acton campaign. The local effort led to the placement of more than 70 yard signs around town that include the image of Big Bird with a reminder for neighbors to simply be kind to one another. What started as an effort to have a handful of signs to be displayed around Acton has grown bigger than committee members could have ever imagined. Now neighboring communities like Maynard and Framingham have inquired about a campaign that has seen signs being displayed in dorm room windows at UMass and being shipped to bigger cities like New York and Chicago.

“We’ve been surprised and yet, not surprised because it’s such a positive message,” Majors told Patch about the response to the campaign. “The message kind of hits home and the timing was kind of perfect. People needed a positive message and they like it. What’s not to like about ‘be kind?’”

Spinney, a 1951 graduate of Acton High School, died last December at the age of 85. The Sesame Workshop said that Spinney, who had moved to Connecticut, had lived for some time with Dystonia, a neurological disorder that impacts movement.

According to an obituary in The Washington Post, Spinney was bullied during his school years because of his feminine name and big ears. Spinney, who was also the puppeteer behind the Sesame Street character Oscar The Grouch, once told The Post that the inspiration behind creating Big Bird – who stood 8-foot-2 – came from the childhood memories of a man who stood only 5-foot-10.

“I was very insecure, shy, didn’t know what to tell people,” Spinney told The Post. “One time my teacher was asked what ‘puny’ was and she thought for a moment and said: ‘Caroll. He’s puny.’ It’s probably just as bad to be too big, like Bird.”

The inspiration for the yard signs, Majors said, came from the belief that the "Be Kind" message is one that Spinney and his Big Bird character would have likely preached. Now, at a time when the coronavirus and various social issues and the political climate have brought a sense of negativity to people across the country, the sign campaign has helped to create smiles on a local and regional level, Majors said.

As he has driven around Acton, Majors said the presence of the signs has done his heart good and has reinforced the idea that members of the community and beyond are all living through difficult and uncertain times together. It also helps to create a legacy in Acton for Spinney, who was part of the Sesame Street team for 50 years after experiencing difficult times as a child in the town that is now hoping to continue his legacy.

“I thought it was maybe a way to right a wrong and turn this into a positive,” Majors said. “Acton can maybe be known from now on as a positive thing with Caroll Spinney versus some of the issues he had with growing up in high school. It can be known for what a great message (Be Kind) can be.”

He added: “We’re trying to repay (Spinney’s) contributions to the world.”

Majors said the campaign has drawn praise from Spinney’s brother and sister and sister-in-law who live in Foxborough as well as his widow, Debra, who lives in Connecticut. Majors said that he and other committee members are now working on more permanent ways Spinney can be remembered in Acton and that may put the town on the map because of Spinney's contributions.

Efforts are underway to have Community Way renamed to Caroll Spinney Way, a project that Majors said has the support of the majority of Selectmen. Once a no-name thoroughfare that connects Rt. 27 to Massachusetts Rt. 111, the roadway is part of the Kelley’s Corner improvement project that Majors said is expected to include a small park. Majors said he envisions one day seeing a sculpture of Spinney sitting on a park bench reading a story to children while Big Bird watches from behind being erected at a location that sits near where Acton High School once stood.

While time will be needed to get projects moving, Majors hopes the sign project will place plans in motion to recognize Spinney’s contributions to the world after growing up in Acton. Majors said that neighboring communities have inquired about using similar yard signs in their towns. While Spinney’s connection to Acton makes the local effort unique it to the town itself, the message driving the campaign extends well beyond the town’s limits.

“There’s nothing unique about the message,” Majors said. “The kindness message is universal.”