From New Brunswick to Scotland: A 75-year friendship endures between these pen pals

Hannah Rudderham · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 22, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

When an advertisement successful a mag prompted young Canadians to go pen pals with a miss successful Scotland, 11-year-old Roberta Gorham jumped astatine the opportunity.

She penned a missive to her caller friend, writing about however she had precocious got her tonsils retired and spent time successful the infirmary — not a large mode to walk the outpouring of Grade 5. She stamped the missive and sent it disconnected and waited excitedly for a response.

That was sent 75 years ago.

Now known arsenic Roberta MacKenzie, she received the latest missive from Pat Cunningham successful Scotland in February.

As the satellite and their lives changed, the 2 kept successful interaction — sharing stories and photos, updates connected their lives, utilizing pen and paper. Through marriages, children, grief and adjacent the advancement of technology, their relationship has ne'er wavered. 

"Having Pat arsenic a pen pal is 1 of the astir important things of my full life," MacKenzie said.  

"It's conscionable a emotion match."

Some things person changed implicit the agelong decades of letters flying backmost and distant crossed the Atlantic Ocean, particularly the terms of a stamp.

"In those days, a missive was astir 4 cents," said MacKenzie.

"Now to nonstop a missive to her is $3.55."

Over the years, she has visited Scotland 5 times and Cunningham has been to Canada twice. 

WATCH | 'It's a beloved happening betwixt us':

And it each started with that advertisement successful the Family Herald, a Canadian work that ran until 1968. 

MacKenzie's household lived connected a tiny workplace adjacent Crystal Beach, the Kingston Peninsula. Every week, a transcript of the Herald would get astatine the family's home and erstwhile her ma and dada finished with it, MacKenzie would flip done to the Maple Leaf Club, a conception of the mag for young radical to find pen pals.

MacKenzie wrote to the miss successful the ad, but instead, received a effect from idiosyncratic else. The advertisement had attracted truthful galore Canadians that the archetypal miss started giving the letters to her friends to respond to. 

That was the commencement of a agelong relationship betwixt MacKenzie and Cunningham.

They would constitute often, sometimes adjacent sending small trinkets oregon treats to the other. As they grew, their lives followed akin paths, some got married successful 1959 and aboriginal gave birth to girls astir the aforesaid time.

"Her day is successful April and she'll beryllium 86 and mine's successful July and I'll beryllium 86," said MacKenzie.

After years of penning backmost and forth, ne'er having had a speech successful idiosyncratic oregon connected the phone, MacKenzie decided to marque the travel to Scotland successful 1968 to sojourn her pen pal, who lived successful Edinburgh astatine the clip with her husband, Robert. 

Cunningham made arrangements to instrumentality MacKenzie to Gleneagles, a luxury property and play course in Auchterarder.

MacKenzie recalls her excitement arsenic the brace checked into their well-appointed country and ate successful the eating country at tables covered by pristine, achromatic tablecloths and lone the champion cutlery and vino glasses. 

Years later, erstwhile Cunningham visited New Brunswick, MacKenzie knew she had to instrumentality her to the Algonquin successful Saint Andrews to repay her. 

MacKenzie's visits to Scotland were ever filled with caller adventures. They picnicked at Smuggler's Cove successful Aberdeen, went swimming in the North Sea, explored Inverness and drank beer, whiskey and stout astatine Melville Castle. 

Her past travel to Scotland, successful May 2024, was an other peculiar one. Cunningham's hubby had travel location aft a two-month stint successful hospital. 

"They made america a beauteous lunch and sat and talked to us, and we took tons of pictures, and I gave Robert a large large kiss and I was truthful gladsome I did," said MacKenzie.

"And you know, wrong six oregon 8 months, helium was gone."

MacKenzie's astir caller missive to Cunningham expressed her sympathy for Robert's passing. Cunningham wrote backmost — 138 radical showed up to stock condolences astatine his funeral. 

It's the benignant of connection that could person been sent done Facebook, email oregon adjacent communicated implicit the phone. 

But for MacKenzie and Cunningham, a handwritten missive tin bash truthful overmuch more.

"It's a beloved happening betwixt us," said MacKenzie.

"She tin inactive write, adjacent though it's a small scratchy, and excavation isn't perfect, but it's conscionable thing we person ever done — hundreds of letters backmost and forth."