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After almost 60 years, Debbie Scruggs Jones met her friend Elizabeth Skilbeck in person this month. The two started writing letters back and forth in 1965, although their method of communication has taken on a more technological bent in recent years.

“Back in 1965, the school system had a program where you could meet up with a person from another country to write,” Jones said. The Cullen area native, who now lives in Red Oak, was in about third grade at the time and attending Phenix Elementary School, she recalled.

On her side of the ocean, Skilbeck was growing up in Dunnington on the outskirts of York in the north of England. Someone gave her the address for the International PenFriends Program, and she filled out a form to be matched with a penpal.

“It was really exciting to have a letter dropped through the letter box with a strange-looking stamp on it and to hear from somebody in such a distant country,” Skilbeck said.

The young girls began writing back and forth nonstop. It took about five to seven days for a letter to travel between them at the time, and then it took a while to find time to write in between school and other activities, so they usually exchanged letters about every two to three weeks. Sometimes, letters would cross in the mail because they got so excited to update each other on the developments in their lives.

Striking up a conversation

At first, conversation centered on their education and the fun differences between the two countries.

“We talked about what we did in school and how it was so much different between the countries,” Jones said. They also talked about the differences in language and slang, like the difference between “mailing” a letter in the United States and “posting” one in England.

As the girls grew up, conversations turned to boyfriends and then to marriages and children and unfortunately to the loss of their husbands. With the advent of technology allowing them to communicate more quickly, they became Facebook friends and now simply message back and forth. However, they recently decided to start writing letters again, at least every once in a while.

“There’s nothing like opening up a letter from a friend,” Jones said.

The July trip was in the planning stages for about a year. Skilbeck said she found out her daughter and son-in-law planned to visit Virginia Beach this year, and she hoped to meet Jones for lunch without realizing the length of the trip between Virginia Beach and Charlotte County.

Jones quickly extended an invitation to stay with her for an entire week.

The two met in Emporia on July 14, and Skilbeck stayed until July 21.

“I could still pick her out,” Jones said. “I saw her right away, and we hugged. She hasn’t changed a lot.”

Debbie Scruggs Jones takes a trip

They visited the Blue Ridge Parkway, the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford and many other sights around the area.

“I’ve been able to meet her family,” Skilbeck said. “All those little children in the photos are all grown up now with children of their own.”

The women meshed just as easily in person as they did by mail all those years ago. 

“We’ve been really comfortable in one another’s company right from the word go,” Skilbeck said.

On their travels, the women shared their story with Jones’ friends as well as others they came across who couldn’t believe they had stayed penpals for so long.

“They can’t believe it,” Jones said. “My friends here say, ‘How many years?’”

“We have had a great time,” Jones continued. “We have so much in common, and it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”