Oklahoma!

Katherine Myers couldn't resist buying a few letters at a Flea Market in Tulsa, Oklahoma once she saw the English postage stamps and realized they were pen-pal correspondence. Katherine had no connection with either the recipient or the writer but simply recalled how much she had enjoyed an English pen-pal friendship of her own for more than fifty years.

She found it fascinating that these letters could have been written by her own pen-pal as it would seem that the concerns and interests of teenage girls didn't change much over the years, even though the letters she had bought were from the late 1940s and her own pen-pal correspondence didn't begin until 1961. "Blood donors are still urgently needed" was stamped on the outside of several of the envelopes, a reminder that England was still in the early stages of recovery from the Second World War.

         Margaret Howe's letters to her pen-pal in Oklahoma.

The letters that Katherine bought were written to Betty Allen of Oklahoma City by Margaret Howe who lived in Audrey Road, Gainsford Park, Sheffield. Margaret mentions that she was May Queen and that her school participated in the Sheffield Schools' Swimming Association meeting on May 25 1949. Katherine asked for our help to return the letters to members of Margaret's family.

We were able to find Margaret living with her parents at the same Sheffield address in the 1939 Register which not only gave us her birthdate but fortunately the register entry had been later amended to show her married name. From there it was relatively straightforward for us to trace Margaret's marriage, the birth of her son Russell and the family's address from online electoral registers right up to present day.

Russell was very surprised and delighted to hear about the discovery of his mother's letters which have now been returned safely to Sheffield. Margaret passed away in 2006 and, as Russell said in his thank you letter to Katherine, it is really touching to know that someone had such kindness to return the letters to the family after so many years. Well done, Katherine!