Fifty years ago, Holly Reynolds made a life-changing decision.
“I was in the 3rd grade at St. Alphonsus School reading a cricket magazine and came across an ad for pen pals,” she said.
She chose a pen pal named Rachel, because, at that time, Rachel was her favorite teacher’s name. However, Rachel responded that she had received too many responses, so she asked Reynolds to instead write to her cousin Fern.
Fern and Reynolds began corresponding and have since grown up together through their letters.
In a world of technology and instant responses, the two continue to write the “old-fashioned way.”
“A simple pen, paper, and snail mail,” Reynolds said. “We have shared our day-to-day lives, jobs, relationships, losses, love, and families.”
For 50 years the two women communicated simply through letters. But this past summer, Reynolds and her husband celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary in Door County, Wisconsin. Fern and her husband live in Green Bay, so it provided the opportunity for the pen pals to meet face-to-face.
“We set a date and had lunch and spent the afternoon together with our husbands and my family,” Reynolds said. “It truly was just like meeting an old friend.”
The two exchanged regional gifts, and Fern recommended local wineries to visit.
Reynolds said she hopes that the visit is reciprocated and that she is able to meet Fern’s daughter as well.
She also wishes more people could experience making a lifelong friend in such a way, even if they use modern ways to communicate.
“It has honestly been surreal to hug and hold a life-long friend that I had never seen in real life,” she said.
