I dreamed of the day I would be old enough to be in a circle letter. Mom told me I would have to be able to write well before I could join one so when ever I had spare time in school I would often write a letter to Mom and Daddy or my Grandparents.
I kept hoping that Mom would announce that I was ready to join a circle letter but she didn't say anything about it and I knew it was useless to beg for one. But on the morning of my tenth birthday as I came into the kitchen I noticed a gift bag beside my plate on the table. I hurried over to see what I had received. The first thing I found was a box with three of the cutest little "dishes" that I would use to keep my pins in since I now wore cape dresses regularly.
I was thrilled with them, but the next packet I found I could barely contain myself with joy of having one of my most cherished dreams realized. There was a tablet of paper, a box of envelopes, a book of stamps, and a pretty piece of paper that Mom had written Address Sheet along the top and the numbers from 1 to 10 written along the side. I quickly sat down and carefully wrote my name and address beside the 1 and then entered names and addresses of several cousins and best friends in the remaining slots.
That day in school I wrote my first letter for a circle letter, and mailed it the next day. Several weeks later I received an envelope nicely fat from being filled with letters from nine of my friends. I read everyone's letter and removed the letter I had written and put it into a box to keep like Mom always did with her letters and then quickly wrote a new one so it would be ready to mail the next day. Years passed and I joined lots of other circle letters but none of them were ever as exciting as the first one I had.
I've never heard of that custom, but it sounds delightful!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading about the delightful and fun sounding circle letter - that must have been exciting and fun!
ReplyDeleteI had several Pen-Pals while I was a teenager. It was great fun and I loved writing notes to others about life on Old Cape Cod.!
ReplyDeleteWe called it a 'Round Robin'. I was in two. One with high school friends and one with college friends. They both lasted about 30 years-but then with the advent of 'electronic communication'- they fell by the wayside. I do miss them and I find in today's society- we don't stay in touch as much as we use to. Maybe it's time I start them up again! Pam M. Chicago
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to be a part of a circle letter, but never had the opportunity. Maybe I should start one. Thanks for this nice glimpse into your life. It must have been so exciting to get that first stack of letters.
ReplyDeleteMy mother-in-law was in a "round robin" letter circle many years ago. Letter writing is a lost art. So sad.
ReplyDeleteI've not heard of either circle letters nor round robins. Sounds like a fun idea.
ReplyDeleteWe, too, called it a "Round Robin" and my parents had one with both sets of siblings. When I got older, all the cousins followed suit. Somewhere over the years, they've stopped - we now have a private facebook page for the "cousins" but I do so miss the actual letters. Maybe I can start that with our generation in my husband's family - we're spread all over and it would be such fun!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the memories your post invoked - it's a lovely thing for a lovely evening.
Lea
What a wonderful custom and fun way to keep in touch with family and friends.
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