PRESSED BETWEEN THE PAGES
DeAnn (Wolkow) Kruempel
The Power of Words
She pressed the chalk holder to the black surface and walked slowly to the right. Three straight horizontal lines magically appeared before us. From the metal shelf below, the woman took a single white stick and reached up. Curves, lines, circles and loops formed within the lines. We read as our teacher wrote in perfect cursive, “Today we will choose our summer pen pals.”
Throughout third grade we had painstakingly practiced writing on special paper that was wider than it was tall. Thin blue lines, similar to the lines on the chalkboard, filled the off-white, slightly textured surface. Capital and lower-case cursive letters were to fit within those three lines. Every sheet we filled was a bit neater than the last, (though the letter Q was impossible!)
At last, I recall the profound pleasure of creating lovely continuous words.
Once the teacher was satisfied with our scribing skills, she proceeded to teach us Letter Writing 101. We learned to use a greeting and a closing and fill the part between with expressive sentences.
Letters needed envelopes. We practiced on plain paper, cut to size. Once we knew where to write the return address and the sendee’s name and address, we were ready!
“Please read through the students’ names and interests and choose one.” Our teacher corresponded with a friend in Iowa who also taught third grade. The two decided to reinforce their classes’ skills by encouraging them to write to pen pals.
I chose a girl who loved Laura Ingalls Wilder books. By Saturday I was ready to write.
With lines that consistently curved downhill, I wrote about the new baby kittens in the barn and about my “playhouse” out in the trees. I told my pen pal that my favorite Laura Ingalls Wilder books were By the Shores of Silver Lake and Little Town on the Prairie because they took place not far from De Smet, my hometown.
Mom checked the envelope after I had addressed it. She likely didn’t want it returned to sender, unreadable. I licked a five-cent stamp and stuck it in the corner, then rushed to the mailbox before the mailman came.
Monday, I wondered if I had gotten anything in the mail yet. Mom told me I needed to be patient. After two weeks with no pen pal letter, I had almost given up. Finally, the mailman left an envelope addressed to me. The writing seemed strangely similar to my own.
My Iowa pen pal and I wrote five letters that summer. Every time I sent one, I couldn’t wait to get one back. To this day, finding a personal letter in my mailbox makes my day. My pen pals are now my youngest grandchildren. Their letters to me are precious gems that I read several times and save forever.
Whether writing to a grandparent, grandchild, a friend, relative, or a person who might be lonely, I highly recommend having a pen pal. Words scrawled on a sheet of paper have the power to make someone happy.
It’s OK, even if the lines are crooked!
DeAnn Kruempel grew up on a farm near De Smet, SD, the sixth child of Harrison and Mabel Wolkow. She attended school at Erwin and De Smet and has lived in Benedict, ND, Toeterville, Akron, Missouri Valley and Logan, IA.
The author worked in school and public libraries for more than 30 years. Her column has run in a growing number of Midwest newspapers for five years.
Each year the author has published the stories into a book. She has also written a historical fiction series, “Promises to Keep.” Her ten books are available on Amazon.
Signed copies may be purchased at the Harrison County Welcome Center. Contact Kruempel at deannkruempelauthor@gmail.com
