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Letter writing
was also popular during wartime. In "History in a
Shoebox," a soldier writes to his sister,
describing the conditions during the Civil War. He
writes about illness, poor living conditions, and
inadequate nutrition in the Civil War camps. A second
feature, entitled "Wartime Letter Writing,"
details correspondence between a soldier who sent over
to India and his wife, back home in Iowa. His letters,
like all others written by U.S. soldiers, were censored.
He was forbidden to write news of the war, discuss his
work, or disclose his location. Can you imagine what it
would be like if someone censored every letter you
wrote?
A
World Famous Diary
As you already
know, the diary of Anne Frank is probably the most
famous piece of writing to come out of WWII. What you
may not know is that in the autumn of 1939, before the
Nazis came to power, Juanita Wagner, a sixth grader at
Danville Elementary School, chose a girl from the
Netherlands to be her pen pal. Her name was Anne Frank.
In an article about the Frank family, we tell you about
the letter that Anne wrote to Juanita just three weeks
after Germany invaded Denmark, and about the letter
Juanita's sister received from Otto Frank, Anne's
father, telling of their experiences of hiding and of
Anne's death in a concentration camp.
How
to Practice Your Letters
What would it
be like to have eleven pen pals for more than fifty
years? You'll find out in "Letters of the T.P.C."
Twelve young women who attended Iowa State College (now
Iowa State University) began a round robin in 1922,
shortly after the women left college in Ames, Iowa. The
letters traveled from one friend to another in a
continuous circle. Each recipient in turn read the
letters, added a new one of her own, then mailed the
bundle of letters on to the next pen pal. This writing
experience lasted until 1976, 54 years after the women
attended college together!
Preserving
the Past
A collection of
letters exchanged between Laura Ingalls Wilder and her
daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, is housed in the Herbert
Hoover Presidential Library in West Branch. Rose wrote a
biography of Herbert Hoover in 1920. After her death,
the library wanted her papers because of her connection
to the Iowa-bom president. When the archivist went to
collect the materials, he also was able to collect
letters between her and her famous mother.
Time may have
yellowed the pages Laura penned to Rose, but it has also
preserved the past in an Iowa archive.
In this issue
of The Goldfinch, devoted to the history and
practice of letter writing, we've explored some
important themes you and your students will enjoy. Other
than wartime letter writing, we also talk about the use
of stagecoaches in mail delivery, discuss people past
and present who have had pen pals, show you how to make
a quill pen. And remember, if you have any questions or
comments about this issue or our Teachers' Guide,
there's only one thing you need to do. Write to us!
Summary
and Discussion Questions
Pages
4-5
Iowa
Letters Write History: The advantages of letter writing
over the years. Discussion
Questions:
(1) Do you think letter writing is as popular today as
it was in the early 1900s?
(2)
Would you rather write a letter or talk on the phone?
(3) If you were writing about life
in
the late 1900s, what would you want future historians to
know?
Page
6-7
History
in a Shoebox: Letters between a Civil War soldier and
his sister detailing war life.
Discussion
Questions: (1) How can writing letters benefit future
generations of a family?
(2)
Does letter writing always give us an objective
perspective of history? Could it be
biased?
Pages
8-9
Postmarked
from Amsterdam: Tells the story of letters exchanged
between Anne Frank and a young girl in Iowa during WWII.
Discussion Questions: (1) Would you keep a diary? If so,
what kinds of things would you include? (2) If you could
pick a pen pal from any country, what country would you
choose?
Pages
10- 11
Wartime
Letter Writing Censored: Tells about the role of
censorship in letter writing
between
a soldier and his wife during WWII. Discussion
Questions: (1) How would you
feel
if someone censored every letter you wrote? (2) Do you
think censorship was
necessary
during the war?
Page
12
Letters
of the T.P.C.: Details a letter writing round robin
between a group of women for
over
50 years. Discussion Questions: (1) If you started a
round robin, who would you
include?
(2) Would these 12 women have remained as close if they
kept in touch using
other
forms of communication?
Page
13
Ready
to Write?: Tips for starting your own round robin.
Page
14-15
The
Courier's Appointed Rounds: Explains the early days of
mail service using stagecoach delivery and Rural Free
Delivery (RFD). Discussion Questions: (1) What's the
difference between stagecoach delivery and Rural Free
Delivery? (2) Do you think that e-mail will replace mail
delivery in the future? (3) Will there always be a need
for mail delivery?
Pages
16-17
Make
a Quill Pen: Shows you the process of making a quill
pen.
Pages
18-19
Laura
and Rose: Letters Preserved in Iowa Archive: An account
of an exchange of letters between "Little
House" author, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and her
daughter, Rose Wilder Lane. Discussion Questions: (1) If
your letters were going to be preserved in an archive,
what would you write about? (2) If you were away from
your parents, would you rather write letters to them or
talk on the phone? Page 20-21 History Mystery: History
detective Sarah Frese talks about visiting the Hoover
Library and asking questions about Hoover's papers and
the "Little House" series.
Page
22-23
History
Makers: Explains how fourth-grade students at West
Library Middle school made friends at The University of
Iowa through letter writing (pen pals). Discussion
Questions: (1) If you were choosing a pen pal at a
university, would it be a student, staff or faculty
member? (2) What could writing letters teach you about
writing in general? (3) What are the pros and cons of
letter writing vs. e-mail?
Page
24-27
Fiction:
Logan's Letters: Story of Logan's journey to America and
the letters he writes to
his
friend back in Ireland. Discussion Questions: (1) What
does this story tell us about the
importance
of letter writing? (2) Why would you write to rather
than call a friend in
another
country?
Page
28
Dear
Diary: Tells about a young girl's interest in letter
writing and her father's job as a
mail
carrier.
Page
30
Griffith
Buck's Letter: Explains how a pen pal helped an Iowan
learn about roses.
Discussion
Questions: (1) If you had a pen pal from another
country, what would you
want
to learn? (2) What would you want your pen pal to know
about Iowa?
