Published Thursday, September 19, 2002
after half a century
correspondence
began in 1951
Herald Staff Writer
Judy Grandy and her friend Pamela Mawson had a very special reunion Wednesday.
The two women have followed each other's lives for more than half a century. They've told each other about their lives, through school life, and then college, careers, marriages and raising families.
But they had never met.
Mrs. Grandy and Mrs. Mawson have been pen pals since 1951. Mrs. Grandy lives in Sharpsville, and Mrs. Mawson lives just outside of Oxford, England. They've kept in constant contact over the years from different sides of the Atlantic Ocean, first writing letters and, as technology advanced, via e-mail. But the opportunity had never come up for the two to meet -- until recently.
When she was 11 years old, Mrs. Grandy had a severe case of polio that left her hospitalized for 10 months. Her aunt's daughter asked her if she wanted a pen pal in England.
"I told her, 'Why not?' After all, I had nothing much to do," Mrs. Grandy said.
And so the 52-year correspondence began. Mrs. Mawson was 16. The name of her pen pal came in a box of chocolates, which was rationed in England at the time. It came from a project completed by a group of school children in the United States. The two women wrote about school and their lives. Both became educators, married and raised children.
"And now she has grandchildren," Mrs. Grandy said. "I don't yet."
Mrs. Mawson said they had committed to writing each Christmas, "But we've written more than that."
Over the years, Mrs. Grandy said, the two wrote back and forth about many things, including how the educational system in their countries was set up. Mrs. Grandy retired from the Badger School System in Kinsman in 1994, where she taught classes for the learning disabled. Mrs. Mawson taught chemistry to students up to age 18 in England.
"We never really got a lot into politics," Mrs. Grandy said. "But I did learn some wonderful things about England that I never thought I would be interested in."
Their meeting Wednesday was made possible through a house-swapping program between clergy in England and in the United States. Mrs. Mawson's husband, Arthur, is a minister. They have traded homes with a couple in Massachusetts for a total of four weeks. They return to England in two more weeks.
"The first time she called, we just started chatting as if we knew each other personally, not just from letters," Mrs. Grandy said. Mrs. Mawson and her husband drove to Sharpsville from Cape Cod Tuesday night.
Wednesday Mrs. Mawson said that at first, things were a little awkward, "but then we knew right away what to talk about."
The two chatted like old friends, talking about differences between the countries and their correspondence over the years. This is the first trip the Mawsons have made to the United States.
"It's a little like McDonald's gone mad," Rev. Mawson said, remarking on the differences between English and American restaurants. He also mentioned that people in the U.S. are very friendly. "And, I've learned what a motel is."
"I'm just so glad to be here," Mrs. Mawson said. "It's so good to finally meet you."
The pen pals planned to spend the rest of the day touring the area with the Grandys, visiting New Wilmington, hoping to see some Amish. They also planned to drive through Buhl Farm.
The Mawsons planned to start their trip back to Massachusetts today. On the return trip, they hoped to drive through Lancaster, home of the Pennsylvania Dutch.