{"id":78951,"date":"2021-06-22T12:51:56","date_gmt":"2021-06-22T16:51:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=78951"},"modified":"2023-12-22T14:10:00","modified_gmt":"2023-12-22T19:10:00","slug":"childhood-memories-dear-pen-pal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/childhood-memories-dear-pen-pal.html","title":{"rendered":"Childhood Memories: Dear Pen Pal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega writes about the joys and memories of having a pen pal when you were growing up. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Did you write to a pen pal growing up? Helping match children with pen pals was one way teachers taught students how to write. Maybe you had a pen pal from a different country and that pen pal\u2019s teacher was hoping your letters would encourage them to perfect their English.<\/p>\n

Whatever reason you were matched with a pen pal, chances are it allowed you to make a new friend while also learning about letter writing, geography, and more.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), 14 May 1978, page 137<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Writing to a pen pal is one way to help kids learn about the world and people living in different countries. A pen pal is one experience that many of us share. The idea of writing a letter to a stranger in an effort to make friends seems to stem from at least the early 20th century. However, while maybe not referred to as \u201cpen pals,\u201d earlier time periods may have also included letter writing to strangers as a token of friendship.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: pen pal letter mailed from Boston on 6 July 1948 to a high school pen pal. Courtesy of collection of Christine Bard.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pen Pals in the Newspaper<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are several ways a child may have found a pen pal. Aside from being assigned one at school, children may have found someone to exchange letters with via a magazine, the newspaper, or even a company specializing in matching letter writers. Historical newspapers<\/a> show examples in the early 1920s of enquiries written to the children\u2019s section of the newspaper in hopes of meeting a pen pal or two.<\/p>\n

Starting in 1924, Aunt Jane\u2019s Letter Club in the Times-Picayune<\/em> was one place young people could write in with their information in hopes of finding the perfect pen pal. Young newspaper letter writers were referred to as \u201cAunt Jane\u2019s\u201d nieces and nephews. Not all pen pal hopefuls were younger children. In some cases, the hopeful pen pal was a teenager, as shown in the following request from 16-year-old Barbara Sowell, who was looking for a pen pal aged 16 to 20 in 1929.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Times-Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana), 27 January 1929, page 97<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Aunt Jane\u2019s column reached young people beyond Louisiana. This 1963 Aunt Jane column includes information about writing to a Japanese pen pal.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Times-Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana), 14 July 1963, page 52<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Aunt Jane\u2019s columns can be a surprisingly rich genealogical source. This full-page example from 1962 shows children\u2019s pen pal requests that include their names, addresses, and in some cases, their photo.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Times-Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana), 4 February 1962, page 26<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These letters provide personal details about the letter writer, promises to write regularly, and the reason for wanting a pen pal. Reasons include earning a girl scout pen pal badge, wanting to write a child in a foreign country, making a new friend, and in the case of 8-year-old Ruben St. Germaine, his mom had belonged to the letter club as a young girl.<\/p>\n

The Times-Picayune<\/em> wasn\u2019t the only newspaper that used its children\u2019s section to match up potential pen pals. This list of interested letter writers is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Milwaukee Journal (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), 17 January 1932, page 74<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pen Pals via a World\u2019s Fair<\/strong><\/p>\n

I asked my Facebook friends about their pen pal experiences, and it was a lot of fun to read comments by those who had had a pen pal, and in some cases, were still corresponding decades after they started.<\/p>\n

One unique pen pal experience was one that my friend, librarian Joy Kestenbaum, told me about. She met a pen pal via the Parker Pen Pavilion at the 1964 World\u2019s Fair in New York. It was described in this way in an online article:<\/p>\n

\u201cFurthering the Fair\u2019s theme of Peace through Understanding, and in cooperation with People-to-People Inc., headed by former President Eisenhower, the company supplies any interested visitor with a form on which he may fill in his name, address, age and his interests. A computer matches this information with the data on participants abroad, and within seconds supplies the name and address of a foreign pen friend on a special overseas mailer.\u201d*<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Imagine having a computer in 1964 match you with a pen pal! Joy went to the World\u2019s Fair and was able to connect with a pen pal from the Netherlands. According to this 1965 newspaper article, the Parker Pen Co. had matched over a million \u201cpen-friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Morning Star (Rockford, Illinois), 17 September 1965, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Morning Star (Rockford, Illinois), 17 September 1965, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Have You Met Your Pen Pal in Real Life?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pen pals may not just be relegated to letter writings. As a child, I had an Austrian pen pal whom I \u201cmet\u201d online a few years back via Facebook. When I asked Facebook friends about pen pals, a few mentioned meeting their pen pals in real life.<\/p>\n

Several newspaper articles I found documented the in-person meeting of pen pals. One example is this one from a 1949 Dallas, Texas, newspaper that spotlights a Dallas woman, Joyce, and her English pen pal, Margaret. The two women had been writing bi-monthly for 11 years. The article includes information about Margaret\u2019s World War II service in the WRENS (Women\u2019s Royal Navy Service).<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas), 19 July 1949, page 16<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sincerely\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I asked my Facebook friends about their experience with pen pals, it led to a lively discussion and fond memories as people recounted their experiences. Pen pals provide an opportunity to learn more about a different place, make friends, and network.<\/p>\n

Did you have a pen-pal growing up? What\u2019s the story of that friendship? Please let us know in the comments section below.<\/p>\n

(*) \u201cParker Pen,\u201d The 1964-1965 New York World\u2019s Fair (https:\/\/www.worldsfairphotos.com\/nywf64\/parker-pen.htm?fbclid=IwAR2K7unNm6-uxLPH0-thcwSbyICGKwSPgLda-2FeehLTQow5262rUPK26_c<\/a>: accessed 31 May 2021).<\/p>\n

Note:<\/em><\/strong> the pen pal letter shown in the banner is to Melissa Edwards from her Korean pen pal. Courtesy of Melissa Edwards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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