WINSTON WEEKLY^[1]

January 25, 2026

Vol. 4, No. 4

TRULY GOLDEN

The most rewarding class project culminated in a golden anniversary and so much more. In 1976, the late Mrs. Sanders asked her grade school students to send a letter to a school in one of the thirteen original colonies. Known as the Bicentennial Pen Pal Project, my letter made its way from West Salem, Wisconsin with a 13 cent Liberty Bell Stamp. A short time later, a letter arrived from Merrimack, New Hampshire, also bearing a 13 cent Liberty Bell stamp.

Fifty years later, the Postal Service delivered a treasured card, letter, and an engraved cup with the words, “50 years of friendship. 1976-2026.” Our truly golden journey has never waned, despite numerous personal and family challenges. We continue to write and foster a friendship like no other. Visits have included our respective schools where the project began, and multiple places in between. Her mother became known early on and will always be affectionately referred to as “Mop.” She has organized multiple memorable moments, including a surprise 25^th wedding anniversary dinner with a wedding cake she designed and baked.

Never did I imagine that the nearly eleven-year-old girl who initially answered my letter would be my maid of honor when I married in 1993, not long after giving birth to her beautiful daughter who became a mother in 2023. As our friendship has thrived, so have her roles as a mother, grandmother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, and trusted employee in her village. Her wonderful son recently became a father. She was and is a comforting soul with a generous heart.

WEEKLY ACTIVITY

Initiate a Semiquincentennial Pen Pal Project, whether through a school, church, association, organization, or as a personal initiative. You never know whose soul you might find or heart you might touch. “[T]here’s something about writing to one another that is very special: that slow pace, looking forward to receiving the next letter and knowing that someone is looking forward to your response.”[2]

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[1] A weekly blog/newsletter by Alysen Bayles to be shared with the appropriate attribute.

[2] Resources: The quote is from Alan Mutter to Moya Sarner while sharing his experience as an international pen pal for an article in the Guardian, Aug. 3, 2018. The classic form of “pen pal” is believed to have originated in the 1920’s although “penpal” is a widely used and acceptable variation. Oxford English Dictionary, 2015. I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda with Liz Welch, is a compelling book originating from a school project involving a Pennsylvania teenager and a boy in Zimbabwe. Little Brown Books, April 2015.