Pen pals for 57 years: ‘It’s old school’

STRONG – Growing up in Strong, Nora Therrien wasn’t surrounded by the rich cultural diversity that more urban childhoods usually allow. Her school days were those of a typical rural Maine student- long bus rides through farm land, learning the basics and playing with her friends whose lives mostly resembled her own.

So when her fifth grade teacher, Mr. Piper, asked the class if anyone was interested in having a pen pal, Therrien jumped at the chance.

“I have no idea how they chose Strong,” Therrien said, adding that she believes it’s a common piece of the curriculum for fifth graders now.

At 11-years-old, Therrien began a correspondence with her new pen pal, Susan Smith of Leicester, England, that would come to last her entire life. Despite the modern ease of social media and email, Therrien and Smith have continued to hand-write monthly letters to one another with anecdotes, family updates and thoughts that can sometimes fill multiple pages.

“It’s more personal, and I like seeing her hand writing,” Therrien said.

Smith chimes in: “It’s old school.”

After years of exchanging letters, the long distance friends finally met in person in 1993- 32 years after the first letter was ever sent.

“It was kind of a dream come true. It was a very exciting day,” Therrien recalls.

Since then, Smith has made several more trips to the United States to see Therrien, always planning a little bit of home-based touring, along with seeing as much of the US as possible. The two have spent time in Colorado, Boston, much of the East coast while on a road trip to Florida, New York City and even across the border into Canada. Most recently, Smith experienced her first moose sighting while traveling up to Eustis.

“I do a lot of scrapbooking. I save all the tickets, everything. I think it will be nice for my children to look at some day,” Smith said.

In addition to memorabilia from her travels, Smith has saved every letter that Therrien has ever sent her.

“I have every card, every picture … three folders full,” she said. “It’s kind of a family thing now. It’s like your entire life in letters and pictures.”

The two have plans to see the Farmington Fair this week while Smith is in town, before heading to Niagara Falls, and with 57 years under their belt, they have no plans of slowing down.