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Project Discussions:  June Learning Together: PenPals  |
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Red Tractor Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
3457 Posts
Winnie
Gainesville
Fl
USA
3457 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 01 2020 : 10:39:44 AM
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Denise had this great idea for the topic of PenPals this month. Did you have one growing up? Do you have any now?
The simple definition of a PenPal is " a friend or contact with whom a regular correspondence is established".
There is not a lot of information in Google, but here is what I found. It looks like the origins of PenPals started in the 1930s. In 1936, a school teacher wanted his students to learn about other cultures from children the same age. He set up what became the Student Letters Exchange. The idea spread in popularity among schools around the nation.
At the same time, mail services were more available in even small communities which made it easier for anyone to send and receive letters.
I remember in Fourth grade, our teacher received a list of students from other countries and we all took a name as a class project. My student was a girl who lived in Surrey, England. We wrote back and forth all the way into our late teens. What was so fun was that my PenPal, Sylvia, attended a real Beatles concert and sent me postcards and told me all about it!! Me and my friends only had the Ed Sullivan Show experience, which was not the same for 11 and 12 year old girls!! LOL!! As we grew up, we wrote, sent a few photos, and shared topics about boyfriends and school, and life in general. The older we became, our lives got busier and busier with working, school, and the usual social life. As a result, we eventually quit writing to each other. Today, however, I wish we had stayed in touch because I would have loved to meet her when we visited England a few years ago.
My Mother, who was a Girls Scout leader for about 30 years, befriended a Girl Guide Leader in England and they became life long friends. The PenPal, Anne, actually came and stayed with us a few days when she came to America with a friend from Scotland. It was such fun! Mom also had a PenPal from, the Philippines, and Denmark that she wrote to up until the time she passed. Upon her death, I contacted each of them to let them know and received back such sweet cards and notes of thanks to have had such a life experience with Mom as their PenPal.
Another cool thing about PenPals were the stamps from the country. My Mom and brother loved to collect stamps so every letter from outside of the United States was carefully looked at and special stamps were removed and added to their collections. PenPal writing was one sure way to get interesting foreign stamps which also provided a look into the country's history and famous people.
Today, PenPal writing is still enjoyed by many people. There were two websites mentioned online where information is exchanged. They are: PenPal World and International Pen Friends.
If you had a PenPal, please share here your experiences so we can all learn more. PenPals are fun and there is something special about getting to know and having a friend who lives in a different part of the world. |
Winnie Nielsen #3109
Red Tractor Girl
Farm Girl of the Year 2014-2015 |
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StitchinWitch
True Blue Farmgirl
1171 Posts
Judith
Galt
CA
USA
1171 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2020 : 1:14:55 PM
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I was fortunate to have had two penpals. One was in Germany; we started writing when I was in 7th grade and kept it up all through high school. Her name was Kristel Faltermeier and she was fascinated by Indians; I think at first she thought it was still the wild west here. Her father was friends with the Spanish dictator Franco and she sent me a photo of them together. My other penpal was from Argentina and I had to write her in Spanish -- it was a project in my Spanish II class.
I agree with Denise -- the stamps were fun. Mom and I both collected stamps. |
Judith
7932
Happiness is Homemade |
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2020 : 2:24:54 PM
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I had a pen pal. Her name was Marilyn Robinson!...so every letter we exchanged was from Marilyn Robinson and also to Marilyn Robinson. Why...because my maiden name was the same as hers. She lived in Australia and I lived in Snyder, Texas.
She also thought that Texas was still the wild west. I think she was 15 and I was 14 when we began to write. We continued until after I married and had my baby boy. She had moved to Canada. Some how we lost touch. About five years ago I tried to find her through Facebook...no it did not work. Then I quit FB.
It was fun to receive her letters in airmail (so thin): envelopes with colorful stamps.
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Texasgran |
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StitchinWitch
True Blue Farmgirl
1171 Posts
Judith
Galt
CA
USA
1171 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2020 : 5:30:02 PM
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| How amazing you both had the same name -- what are the chances of that happening! |
Judith
7932
Happiness is Homemade |
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debbieklann
True Blue Farmgirl
2642 Posts
Debbie
Madras
OR
USA
2642 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2020 : 6:11:41 PM
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I agree, Marilyn! What a fun coincidence!
When I was a freshman in highschool, our science teacher had a friend in Austrailia, also a teacher, I think. They thought it would be fun to get their students connected by being penpals. Both my girlfriend and I had boy penpals. I remember writing for a couple of years. He sent me pictures of himself with a kangaroo in one letter...I loved their thin paper and envelopes! I had a hard time trying to figure out the Fahrenheit/Celsius temperature conversion but knew enough to know that it was REALLY hot where he lived! I think life happened and we stopped writing. |
Debbie Klann
Farmgirl Sister #770
2018 Farmgirl Sister of the Year
January 2020 FGOTM
"Well behaved women seldom make history"...
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich |
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levisgrammy
Scattered Prairie Hen Honcho
9219 Posts
Denise
Ohio
USA
9219 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2020 : 6:43:16 PM
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| I never had a penpal from another country but during summers at the lake I made friends with a girl whose family had a cabin there near my grandparents. We spent lots of time together when I was at my grandparents and we wrote one another throughout the school year. I often thought it was funny that she was from NJ and that's where I ended up. I still remember her address and looked it up one time. Her name came up as still living there. We live in the southern portion here and she lives in North Jersey. People from here call it north and south Jersey. We didn't really keep up after we both entered high school. I have pen pals now I keep in touch with on a regular basis. When my daughter was in school she had a penpal from Russia. It was quite a challenge to understand her letters and I use to have to address the envelopes for her to make sure it was written exactly as the return address was written. I think our whole family enjoyed those letters. |
Denise~~
Sister #43
"I am a bookaholic with no desire to be cured."
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path"
Psalm 119:105
www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com
www.torisgram.etsy.com |
Edited by - levisgrammy on Jun 01 2020 6:44:20 PM |
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2020 : 8:11:49 PM
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Back when I was 14 I got my drivers license. I drove around in my parents car. My pen pal rode around on a motor scooter. Once she was hit by a moving vehicle. That caused some broken bones. She was laid up for months.
Judith, I was very surprised to find another girl with my name. |
Texasgran |
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levisgrammy
Scattered Prairie Hen Honcho
9219 Posts
Denise
Ohio
USA
9219 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2020 : 04:08:22 AM
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I did find some back ground information on letter writing.
Here is what I found:
According to history, Queen Atossa of Persia wrote the first letter. Hers was sent by messenger, and didn’t require a stamp.
Letters were sent by merchant ships, on horseback or by friends who were traveling.
These letters were not contained in envelopes. If sent through a courier or merchant ship, the receiver was the one who was required to pay ‘postage’.
The ‘Black Penny’ was the first actual postage stamp, and was issued in Great Britain in 1840. Letter writing itself was the only form of communication between folks who lived great distances apart.
Benjamin Franklin was assigned the position of US Postmaster in 1775. Actual postage stamps were issued in the US in 1847, but it wasn’t until 1855 that prepayment of stamps became a requirement.
The Pony Express was the result of William H Russell failing to get the backing of the US Postal Service to send his mail. President Abraham Lincoln’s Inaugural Address was sent by Pony Express, arriving in California in 7 days and 17 hours – the fastest Pony Express delivery recorded.
Not penpals information but it was interesting to see how those first letters were transported from place to place. |
Denise~~
Sister #43
"I am a bookaholic with no desire to be cured."
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path"
Psalm 119:105
www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com
www.torisgram.etsy.com |
Edited by - levisgrammy on Jun 02 2020 04:10:51 AM |
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Red Tractor Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
3457 Posts
Winnie
Gainesville
Fl
USA
3457 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2020 : 05:21:23 AM
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I am enjoying all of these PenPal stories! Does anyone know if their grandchildren are getting PenPals in schools these days as a way to learn about other places and cultures? I would be interested to see how popular this concept is today with social media pretty much replacing old fashion letter writing.
Marilyn, I think it is really fun that you and your PenPal had the same name!! I bet not many people had the same experience.
Denise, thanks for the interesting information about the beginnings of mail here in the US. That is a story all unto itself and one that is full of twists and turns. As a child, I never had enough interest in stamp collecting, but now, I am much more curious . I have a. USPS account where I can do Click and Ship and order stamps and supplies online. When I started looking over all of the interesting stamps and collective stamps, I was excited! Now, I try and order new and interesting stamps that are honoring a special person or event of our past. At my last visit to see my brother, he gave me one of Mom’s stamp collection books. It is fascinating! There are many interesting stamps produced in my lifetime and now when I look at Mom’s book, I remember these events or people and appreciate that there were commemorative stamps produced to both honor the person or event and also educate the public. Together, these little small stamps help to be a history lesson for the decades. |
Winnie Nielsen #3109
Red Tractor Girl
Farm Girl of the Year 2014-2015 |
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levisgrammy
Scattered Prairie Hen Honcho
9219 Posts
Denise
Ohio
USA
9219 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2020 : 05:32:29 AM
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Winnie,
My grandchildren, the oldest 3, are homeschooled and all have penpals. The other two who are old enough to have penpals go to public school and as far as I know they do not have penpals from doing something like that in the school. They are so busy with so many other things so I am not sure if they do it in their school.
I too have an account on USPS and it make things so much easier. |
Denise~~
Sister #43
"I am a bookaholic with no desire to be cured."
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path"
Psalm 119:105
www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com
www.torisgram.etsy.com |
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Bonnie Ellis
True Blue Farmgirl
859 Posts
Bonnie
Minneapolis
Minnesota
USA
859 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2020 : 5:51:58 PM
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| I had a pen pal from the Philipines when I was in junior high and high school. When I was a senior, Charles Shultz the cartoonist had Charlie Brown having a pen pal. Mr. Shultz came to Minneapolis and spoke at an international pen pal meeting and I was one of two student speakers. With a color crayon, he drew me a cartoon of Charlie Brown and Snoopy and personalized it with saying from Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Charles Shultz. A number of years back I was on Antiques Roadshow with it. |
grandmother and orphan farmgirl |
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StitchinWitch
True Blue Farmgirl
1171 Posts
Judith
Galt
CA
USA
1171 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2020 : 8:10:21 PM
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| Bonnie -- What a fun memory! Antiques Roadshow is such an interesting program; we went when it was in Sacramento about 25 years ago. |
Judith
7932
Happiness is Homemade |
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2020 : 9:14:09 PM
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Bonnie that's exciting!
Very interesting information Denise!
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Texasgran |
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levisgrammy
Scattered Prairie Hen Honcho
9219 Posts
Denise
Ohio
USA
9219 Posts |
Posted - Jun 03 2020 : 04:12:46 AM
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| Marilyn, do you remember where the other Marilyn was from? |
Denise~~
Sister #43
"I am a bookaholic with no desire to be cured."
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path"
Psalm 119:105
www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com
www.torisgram.etsy.com |
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Red Tractor Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
3457 Posts
Winnie
Gainesville
Fl
USA
3457 Posts |
Posted - Jun 03 2020 : 06:06:01 AM
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Bonnie, what a wonderful memory of Charles Schultz that was the result of having a PenPal!
I often wonder if PenPals seems too old fashioned for our younger generations because they primarily live on social media platforms. They don’t do much with writing skills in the younger grades like they did in the years I was In elementary school. I know my two millennials don’t even use email mail for anything except work . With their friends, it is all on social media where they can text. |
Winnie Nielsen #3109
Red Tractor Girl
Farm Girl of the Year 2014-2015 |
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darlenelovesart
True Blue Farmgirl
6000 Posts
darlene
Loleta
California
USA
6000 Posts |
Posted - Jun 03 2020 : 06:16:19 AM
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Wow Bonnie what neat memories, Charles Shultz was such a neat artist, his Peanuts were sweet, still are. What a nice experience.
Darlene |
Farmgirl # 4943
Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.
Tell God what you need, and thank him for what he has done.
Philippians 4:6
Just follow God unquestioningly.
Because you love Him so, for if you trust His judgment there is nothing you need to know.
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - Jun 03 2020 : 10:00:29 AM
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| Denise the other Marilyn was from Australia. |
Texasgran |
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - Jun 03 2020 : 10:02:23 AM
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| Denise the other Marilyn was from Australia. |
Texasgran |
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StitchinWitch
True Blue Farmgirl
1171 Posts
Judith
Galt
CA
USA
1171 Posts |
Posted - Jun 03 2020 : 11:53:08 AM
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| Sadly, writing seems to be going out of fashion. Some schools don't even teach cursive writing anymore. Young people rely on texting, twitter, facebook, instagram, and all those other "social media" things. The social world as we knew it growing up is gone. |
Judith
7932
Happiness is Homemade |
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - Jun 03 2020 : 11:55:49 AM
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| And that is sad! |
Texasgran |
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marlee
True Blue Farmgirl
871 Posts
Marlene
DeRidder
Louisiana
871 Posts |
Posted - Jun 03 2020 : 3:31:27 PM
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I have always had pen pals. My mother did so that is how I got started. When I was a teenage
I had a pen pals from English. We lost touch when we graduated from High School. I also had an pen pal from Washington State she was a native American she lived on a reservation. But I lost touch . I don't know what happen to her. Her name was Robin Fry. She was older than me. I always wondered. I still have pen pal today.
It does seem like its a lost art, But I love it.
Hugs Marlee |
Hugs: Heavens Ultimate Good Sign
OCD: Overly Cute Disposition
Farmgirls: Sisters from Different Gardens |
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levisgrammy
Scattered Prairie Hen Honcho
9219 Posts
Denise
Ohio
USA
9219 Posts |
Posted - Jun 03 2020 : 3:38:44 PM
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| I have lots of penpals now. Some are Farmgirls some are long ago friends. Love handwritten letters on pretty cards and stationary. |
Denise~~
Sister #43
"I am a bookaholic with no desire to be cured."
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path"
Psalm 119:105
www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com
www.torisgram.etsy.com |
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Project Discussions: June Learning Together: PenPals |
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June Learning Together: PenPals
