Pen Pal Friendships

Published Authors Become Friends Through Magazine

I started writing to pen pals when I was in sixth grade. Eventually, we stopped writing, though, and for some unknown reason, I never had pen pals again until several years ago.

Thanks to the quarterly magazine BRAVE HEARTS (a sister publication to CAPPER’S that is no longer published), I found a new pen pal friend.

I sent many stories to BRAVE HEARTS and had several of them published. I soon noticed that almost every time I had a story published, so did a woman named Susan. Susan noticed this also, and one day I received the nicest letter from her. We have been corresponding ever since.

We have a lot in common, but are also opposites in some ways. We both enjoy writing, belong to the Lutheran church, are in sewing groups, and we share the same wedding anniversary. We both are enjoying our senior years, and we both still drive. However, while I enjoy looking at art, I have no talent for drawing, but Susan is a beautiful artist.

Susan and I correspond about twice a month, and we share a sister-like relationship. We have exchanged photographs, and another thing we have in common is that we both have gray hair and wear glasses.

Although we live several miles apart, in different states, and haven’t met yet, we hope that some day we will.

Maxine - Exira, Iowa

Illness Brings Girls Together

I have had pen pals for most of my 83 years. It’s a great way to get acquainted with people outside your area.

In 1940, at age 13, I was stricken with acute polio and was hospitalized for many months to undergo treatment. A girl from Alpena, Michigan, and a girl from California were in the hospital at the same time I was, and we befriended each other. It helped us to talk and share our experiences with polio. After leaving the hospital, we continued our friendship as pen pals.

I presently have pen pals in California, Indiana, Arkansas and Georgia, as well as a few other locations, though less frequently. I have learned that to be a good pen pal, you have to respond to each letter you receive. You also have to write regularly with updates on family highlights and activities, and you have to lend praise and encouragement whenever it’s needed, whether in good times or in bad.