Zealandia penfriends for over 70 years

by ROWENA OREJANA
Meticulously penned letters on yellowing papers and envelopes, some frayed at the edges, mark 71
years of friendship that have spanned the globe.

When, in 1943, 8-year-old Patricia Harrop (now Mrs Goddard) picked 10-year-old Constance Jenkin’s (now Mrs Hinman) name out of Zealandia for her to be her penfriend, she never gave a thought about how long the friendship would last.
Mrs Goddard remembers striking up a friendship with a “sophisticated American”.
“Living down here, it (the US) would be the furthest you can go. It opened a whole new world for me of
glamour and clothes,” she said.
Getting a letter from the States was a highlight of her day. Mrs Goddard said she used to hang around
the letterbox, and Connie told her she did the same.
In 1943 Patricia wrote, “The other day two American Red Cross girls came to see us. They said they
didn’t know you, but I showed them your picture and they were proud of you, too.”
Pat’s mum and Connie’s mother started their own correspondence as well. “She (Mrs Harrop) would
always apologise for my handwriting and spelling,” Mrs Goddard said with a laugh.
“It’s incredible that she [mum] would write so much rubbish about me and the kids and Connie’s
mother would write back. It was during the war. And all our mail had been opened and censored, as if we
were spies or something. It drove me mad,” she said.
Mrs Goddard said she learned about American civil wars and history from Connie.
Connie, on the other hand, learned about Maori and New Zealand culture from her.
They wrote about their boyfriends, make-up and clothes. When they each got married, they wrote about their families and children.
“I’m sure she thinks of me as a sister. Through those letters you could see the rubbish I wrote to her. Unbelievable. It just shows the power of writing. Be careful what you write,” she said, with a shake of her head.
They also kept up with technology, although Mrs Goddard said Mrs Hinman always preferred handwriting. At one stage, they talked to each other over ham radios. They sent each other recordings of their weddings.
Later, they switched to emails, although they still sent each other Christmas cards and souvenirs.
They finally met for the first time in 1977 when they were in their 40s, when the Goddards paid Mrs Hinman a visit in the US. Mrs Goddard recalled what a huge celebration it was. It was party after party after party as Mrs Hinman’s friends were excited to meet the woman she had been writing to.
Mrs Hinman and her family returned the favour by visiting her in New Zealand five years later, with her children in tow.
“We lived in Orewa at that time. Her children had never seen the ocean. It was hard to get them
to sea. We had a hard time getting them on a fishing boat or a speedboat. But after a week, they were
waterskiing and swimming,” Mrs Goddard recalled.

Mrs Goddard visited her friend again in September in Mississippi.
“It was a lovely reunion, talking non-stop while we were there. Playing cards in the evening. Extremely
interesting meeting her children and grandchildren in their own homes and enjoying superb hospitality. They are very hospitable, those Americans,” she said.
Mrs Goddard said it would be good for young people to write to other children from a different culture. “There is lots to be gained from writing to someone from a different country,” she said.