expressandstar.com

Ciara hill meets two pen pals whose friendship spanned the Atlantic and has continued for more than 50 years.

When a letter arrived in a school in Minneapolis 56 years ago it marked the start of a transatlantic friendship which would overcome every obstacle.

Marlene Yeomans, now aged 69, of Wolverhampton, and 68-year-old Karen Sorensen from Minnesota, started writing to each other as schoolgirl pen pals who had similar lives.

The world seemed a much larger place for both the 12-year-olds and they were fascinated with each other’s existence, but since then their friendship has stood the test of time and survived many of life’s traumas.

They have stayed in touch through marriages, child rearing and close bereavements and Mrs Sorensen, has saved her dollars and made the journey to visit her friend for the second time.

She vividly remembers the start of the friendship: “I was sitting in school and this letter landed on my desk.

“All I knew about England at that time was Cockney accents and I thought everyone spoke like that.

Dreams

“I wrote to tell Marlene about playing hopscotch and war games with the boys in my neighbourhood and riding our bicycles.”

Marlene, who used to work for Wolverhampton City Council as a home help, said: “The world was very different then and very innocent.

“I’d tell Karen about cycling to West Park to eat sandwiches and we’d write about our dreams for growing up and getting married.

“It was so exciting I felt like I was writing to someone on the moon.”

The friends also used to joke about becoming godmothers to each other’s children and have managed to make that dream come true.

Karen travelled to England for the christening of Mrs Yeomans’ first son Gary and became his godmother.

In return she chose Marlene to be godparent to her first born child Martha who is now 36. But this was down by proxy because they have never actually met.

When Karen came to Wolverhampton for her godson’s christening her first impressions of the city were positive.

“I was scared I would not be able to understand what Marlene was saying. All I really knew about England at that time was the Beatles’ music.

“I remember having to ask her to slow down talking but it was just so good to see her and her family I hardly noticed anything else.

“Apart from when the vicar came round for afternoon tea before the christening and he looked me up and down. It was like he was trying to see if I was a proper enough person to be a godmother.

“We went to the dog races and I bet on a dog called Houseguest which won. It was all very exciting.”

She says England is very similar to America, but Minneapolis is more cosmopolitan than Wolverhampton and the weather is more extreme with up to 40in of snow in the winter.

The friendship went through a difficult patch when Marlene went through a family trauma in the 80s, and correspondence between the friends dwindled until they lost contact completely for eight years.

Then in 1992 Karen became desperate to find out what happened to her friend and she contacted the Express & Star through a letter.

She said: “I just thought I have to know what is going on with Marlene and whether she is okay or not.

“I knew there was a local paper and I sent an advert with all her family’s names and details to the Express & Star. Marlene’s cousin saw it and we managed to renew contact. I was so pleased it worked because I just needed to know.”

Strengthen

Now that both women are retired and their children are grown up, they have vowed to keep in touch and strengthen their friendship.

Marlene is a former Graiseley Primary School pupil and she loves to recall how exciting it was to have a pen friend in her school days: “I didn’t have any brothers or sisters and my English teacher said we could explain all about our lives to someone in America.

“At that age overseas felt like a long way away. The furthest I had ever been was Rhyll and I thought this was a great idea.

“We all put about a penny towards the postage and sent the packet off to America.

“But even now it is still really exciting to get letters and I’m so glad Karen made contact with me again.”

Karen adds: “Being pen friends has been a really positive experience for both of us.

“At first we used to joke about the different words we would use like lift and elevator but after decades of sending letters we really know each other well.

“She knows many of my innermost secrets and I think sometimes it’s better to tell someone who is on the other side of an ocean, at least that way you know it’s not going to become general gossip.”