THE SMARTEST - FASTEST - BESTEST ARCHIE COMIC BOOK PEN PAL...EVER

The following is a letter I transcribed that  my sister received in 1971 from her Archie comic book pen pal.

Vintage card from Jacqueline , my sister's Scottish pen pal

She recently discovered it in a box of "treasures" my mother had put away for her. 

It is dated June 13, 1971 and is from a girl named Jacqueline who lived (and perhaps still does) in Midlothian, Scotland.

Based on the contents of this letter both my sister and I were quite surprised Jacqueline had not taken the whole world by storm considering her above average intelligence,  great attention to detail, overwhelming confidence and remarkable athleticism.

It is a nostalgic look at old school communication; the lost art of handwriting, letter writing, and "pen pal-ery" in general.  Plus, it is funny as heck!

Dear Erin,

I am sorry I did not write sooner, but with exams and school sports and everything I have just not had the time. I am sports champion of the school that means I am the fastest runner in the school. For a prize I get a medal with my name on it. I go into class 1 M3 at high school after the holidays. Classes 1M1, 1M2, 1M3 are all the same. These classes are all above average intelligence. We get put into any class in first year and in third year we are graded into the right classes. My friend Carol ______ who lives next door to me would like to be Heather's pen pal. Carol lives at (______Rd. Midlothian,

Scotland). I am sorry but I cannot send you a picture of myself and my family this time because the spool in my camera is finished and at the moment I am saving to have my ears pierced so I could not buy a spool. Our school teacher Mrs. ___ is quite old but she is great. We are going to buy her a present before we go to high school. Our house has just been built up and we now have upstairs. I have one of the rooms. My big brother Stewart just came home from a school cruise today and he brought me two ornament dolls from the Azores. They are quite big. They are mostly made of wool cloth and stick. There is a husband and wife. We are going to stay in a house in the South of France for our holidays. My uncle and aunt live in France. Well that is all for now. Goodbye and write soon.

Love Jacqueline

xxxxxx