In a letter dated Aug. 17, 1955, 10-year-old Noelene Diamond describes her life in New Zealand. She’s in Grade 4, has four siblings and lives on the North Island – though she once took a plane to the South Island.

Long-time Surrey resident Elsie Klassen keeps that letter in her Guildford apartment. The lined paper has turned yellow with age, but Diamond’s careful handwriting is clear. As she signs off, the black ink reads, “I hope you will keep writing to me.”

Klassen did keep writing to her. The two have been pen pals for 53 years, since Klassen’s Fort Langley elementary school teacher organized the letter-exchange project. To mark their anniversary, Diamond made the long trip from Wellington to Surrey on Aug. 15.

It was the third time the pen friends met. Diamond came to Canada in 1982 for their first meeting. Two years later Klassen visited New Zealand. They’ve had little face-to-face time, but know each other intimately. The two women have shared everything: their marriages, the birth of their children, their divorces and the death of loved ones.

Diamond met Klassen’s current husband, Jake, for the first time last weekend. She recognized him the moment she got off the plane – from the photos Klassen sent with her letters. Diamond was able to spend time with the whole family, including Klassen’s children.

“It’s just like I know them like my own children,” she says.

The pen pals spent two nights counting their letters, remembering the milestones in each of their lives.

They exchange letters three or four times per year. Postage is $2 and it takes about a week for a letter to get from Canada to New Zealand. Compare that to 1955 when a stamp cost 3¢ and it took six weeks to deliver mail by ship.

Several thick bundles of letters bound by elastic bands sit on Klassen’s dining table. She has kept every letter Diamond ever sent. Some are written on plain white paper and others on floral stationary. A few are typed but the bulk is handwritten. Diamond prefers to handwrite since she types all day at work.

The friends talk on the phone on special occasions and use e-mail sparingly – perhaps to acknowledge receipt of a birthday package. Otherwise they stick to snail mail.

“I enjoy going to my mailbox and finding a letter there, it’s so exciting,” says Klassen.

Diamond agrees. It’s a pleasant surprise to receive a friendly letter instead of a bill. And they never worry about their secrets getting out, since they send their innermost thoughts and feelings to the other side of the world.

Diamond was only in town for three nights. On Monday (Aug. 18) she left for a European vacation.

Klassen can expect a letter in a few weeks telling her all about it.

clyon@surreyleader.com