In 1952, when Agnes Martinez was 12 years old, her teacher asked her class if anyone was interested in being a pen pal to another 12-year-old girl from the United States. The teacher picked Martinez after she raised her hand along with three other students. For Martinez, a resident of Glasgow, Scotland, the chance to have a pen pal was exciting.
“I was born and raised in Scotland, and at the primary school I went to, I loved to do writing and composition,” Martinez, 83, told The Chronicle.
She said having a pen pal gave her a chance to write, but it also gave her a lifelong friend.
Beverly Walker was living in Altus, Oklahoma, when she sent a letter to the city of Glasgow asking if they could pass the letter along to a local school.
According to Martinez, who now lives in the Chehalis area, the idea for Walker’s letter came from her uncle, who had been stationed in Glasgow while in the U.S. Army and told her about the city. The uncle encouraged Walker to get a pen pal in Glasgow to learn more about the area.
When Martinez and Walker first began writing to each other over 70 years ago, they would discuss their families, later branching out into other areas of their lives, such as the different subjects they were learning in school and what each other’s country was like.
“I would ask her what the neighborhood was like, what kind of house she had, what school she went to … just run of the mill questions any 12-year-old would ask,” Martinez said.
While they were the same age, both girls had a lot to learn about one another’s countries.
“She’d say she was in fifth grade or something like that and I’d write back, ‘What’s fifth grade? What’s that?’” Martinez said.
They would also exchange pictures, with Martinez buying a camera, something she said wasn’t common in Scotland at the time, so she could send Walker pictures of Scotland and her family.
While the two wrote to each other frequently, Martinez, an enthusiastic writer, wrote significantly longer letters than Walker.
“Of course I love to write so I’d write five pages and she’d write me one page back and I’d think ‘Come on, write me back more,’” Martinez said.
Initially, the two girls would write to each other about once a week. Martinez said at the time it only cost pennies to send letters across the Atlantic, so their regular communication wasn’t expensive.
When she was 26, Martinez immigrated to the U.S. with her husband and two children. While her husband had wanted to immigrate to another country, Martinez said they also looked at other countries such as Australia and New Zealand. The family ultimately settled in Rochester, New York, where her husband had been accepted for a job.
“The grass is greener … So they said,” Martinez explained why their family immigrated from Scotland.
Martinez lived in Rochester for four years before eventually moving to Scottsdale, Arizona, something that gave her the chance to finally meet her longtime pen pal in person.
When Martinez stopped by Walker’s house in Fort Worth, Texas, she said the visit was nothing like she had imagined growing up. She said she had imagined meeting her pen pal at an airport after getting off a plane. Instead, their meeting came after what Martinez described as a sweaty eight-hour car ride.
“But that didn't stop me from loving her,” Martinez said.
Martinez said there were several surprises when she met Walker in person.
“Beverly wasn’t very tall,” said Martinez, who used her hand to indicate how short her pen pal was compared to her.
She said she was also surprised by her friend’s accent. According to Martinez, Walker had a strong Texas accent, which she said was the hardest American accent for her to understand.
“It was quite a surprise when I met her,” Martinez said.
She said she had difficulty understanding her friend and imagined Walker had a similar experience with her, as Martinez spoke with a Scottish accent.
While in Fort Worth visiting Walker, they went with Martinez’s family to the Six Flags theme park.
“I thought, ‘Wow,’” Martinez said of their theme park experience.
She also met Walker’s mother, who she said had also been eager to read her letters, even pulling Walker out of school when a letter arrived so they could read it. When they met, Martinez said Walker’s mother told her she was “just exactly what I expected you to be.”
“I thought, ‘Oh, I wonder what that means?’” Martinez said.
Around 1973, Walker moved from Arizona to Washington.
“I did not like Arizona at all. I couldn’t wait to get out of it,” Martinez said.
She said she loves Washington state, telling The Chronicle it is easier to talk to people here.
“Washington people really don’t have an accent so I had no trouble talking to them and understanding them,” she said.
She also said she liked Washington’s weather as it reminded her of Scotland.
“I loved it. It was so much like home,” Martinez said.
Unfortunately, during her move to Washington, some of the letters Martinez had received from Walker were damaged, though she estimates she still has about 90% of them.
“I saved them all,” she said.
The two friends would continue to meet in person, the second time while Martinez was visiting her sister in California. She said Walker had wanted to come see her but because she was going to be in California she had her come meet there.
Beyond being the same age, Martinez and Walker share many similarities in their lives.
According to Martinez, the two got married and had children at the same time as each other.
While they continue to write to each other, after getting married they began writing less frequently.
Today, Martinez writes to her friend about once a month and still receives messages on how Walker is doing.
“It’s been a wonderful journey,” Martinez said. “I just feel like she’s a long-distance sister.”
