DEAR SUN SPOTS: I was interested in the Dec. 16 Sun Spots about Christmas cards, letters, and pen pals. Not too long ago, I exchanged Christmas cards with 450 friends and family members. We have lost many of them and now my list is down to 250 people. 

Decades ago, I made a New Year’s resolution to send out a card or a letter to someone every day. I managed to keep that resolution for over 30 years but am slowing down now because of changes in my life. 

Over 60 years ago, I read an article in Grit magazine about using virgin (unprocessed) hair in rifle telescopes. I wrote to the company and when they responded, they returned a letter written by Trudie Welfley of Akron, Ohio. I wrote to Trudie and returned her letter. 

She wrote back, saying she had received my letter and commented on my penmanship, saying it would be a pleasure to read my letters. Over the years, we’ve swapped recipes and made gifts for one another. I made tapes of me playing Trudie’s favorite piano tunes and her husband, Paul, painted a picture of my son. When Trudie passed away, Paul sent me Trudie’s piano bench and sheet music. At that time, Trudie’s sister, Margaret, and I began writing to one another. 

Years passed then I got a letter from Margaret’s daughter Jo Anne telling me of her mother’s death. Now Jo Anne and I keep in touch on Facebook. She sent me a book she has written and I sent her one that my daughter has written. We’ve spoken on the phone and I enjoy the beautiful pictures she sends of her pets and the scenery in her part of Ohio. I have used these scenes in some of my paintings. 

Jo Anne grew up hearing about me and my family from her aunt and her mother, and we feel like family. Trudie and Margaret were both old enough to be my mother, and Jo Anne could be my younger sister. 

Although none of us have ever met, we’ve shared a friendship that has endured for over 60 years. 

And although technology seems to be the major way of communication these days, there are some of us who still enjoy the old ways! Happy writing! — Becky, Fayette

ANSWER: I am so impressed with the beautiful response to my request for readers to let me know if they still send Christmas cards, letters, or have pen pals. It did my heart so much good to hear from Becky and to get to know her through this handwritten letter with impeccable penmanship. It seems that it was preordained that these women should “meet.”

Upon reading Becky’s letter, which I have typed here in its entirety, we get to know some tidbits about this writer’s wonderful life, and how letters sent over the miles between Maine and Ohio for decades have brought much joy to her and her epistolary friends. 

I’m so curious to know why Becky got Trudie’s letter from Grit in the first place, and most importantly, has Becky kept all those letters, and did Trudie and Margaret do the same? I hope Becky will write again and tell us more of the story. 

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