Did You Ever Have a Secret Pen Pal?

Thirty residents in Friendship Village’s Briarwood neighborhood just met theirs for the first time this month. While pen pals are often established to help people improve their foreign language skills, the pen pals to Friendship Village residents had an entirely different reason to keep in touch.
Twenty-six third and fifth graders from St. Thomas of Villanova began corresponding with 30 Briarwood residents as part of the school’s religious education program (RCRE) lead by Tom Haimann and his daughter Rebecca to help the children learn intergenerational communication. Every week, each student would send a note, artwork, card or letter to their secret pen pal via an exchange mail bag. In return, Friendship Village residents would send personal notes and items back to their mysterious pen pal.
The pen pals shared many things about their lives and the 75 to 90 years that separates their childhoods. Dr. Seuss grew up in the 1920s and often refers to things in his past in his children’s books still read by today’s youth. However, his books may be one of the few shared experiences. Today, children’s lives are centered around technology in a world that finds trust difficult; their pen pal counterparts grew up in the era of Al Capone and gangsters, jazz and the excesses of the 1920s followed by the deprivation of the 1930s and Roosevelt’s New Deal economic programs. The Pen Pal program bridged the separation of generational differences, enriching the lives of both the children and elderly.
The program began in October 2009 and ended on Palm Sunday but not before the pen pals had a chance to finally meet each other. In a party at Friendship Village, children were asked to guess who their pen pals may have been for the past six months. According to Eleanor Madsen, resident, “I became very enthusiastic when I received the first letter from my Pen Pal. She was the same age as my great granddaughter. I was inspired by their leader who encouraged the children to participate in this program. The party we had to finally meet our Pen Pal was the icing on the cake!”
According to Harriet Zajek, pictured with her pen pal, Heather Furbee, “I found this experience encouraging and inspiring, and I looked forward to each written response. Heather responded that I was like a grandmother to her and that felt wonderful. I was also impressed with her commitment to continue in our correspondence to one another beyond the close date of the project.”

Residents joined in singing “You are My Sunshine” to the youngsters and a happy reunion finally settled the mystery of the secret pen pal. Going forward though, many of the pen pals will continue to share experiences with their new-found friends… proving that Facebook has nothing on these folks!