Sad but true, the concept of letter writing has become a lost art.

Indeed, the days when children sought out pen pals to exchange letters back and forth is all but obsolete.For Louise Zatoris, being able to find a pen pal a half century ago was one of the most exciting things to ever happen to her.Zatoris, who grew up in Palmerton, recalls how the borough was a wonderful place to grow up; a place where everyone knew each other, and family values were still a priority.Every Sunday, Zatoris would attend Sunday School and the Trinity Evangelical Church on Third Street, which has since become the Living Lighthouse Church.Back in those days, she said a Sunday School class was comprised of two dozen or more students who enjoyed and looked forward to the experience.For Zatoris, it remains a constant part of her life thanks to her favorite Sunday School teacher, Shirley Green, whom to this day Zatoris reminds and thanks for the examples she set and the road she paved for all those she taught.One of the things Zatoris said she looked most forward to was the monthly newspaper they received which had stories, activities, and a special page entitled "Be My Pen Pal.""What you were to do was find someone who shared the same birth date as you, write to them, ask them to be your pen pal and hope they answered you so you could build a friendship and share common interests," Zatoris said. "For months, I would search the list of names which were from all over the United States, but I could never find anyone who shared the same date as me, Feb. 3, 1950."It got to the point where Zatoris, then 9 years old, said it seemed as though everyone in her Sunday School class was able to find a pen pal except for her.At long last, Zatoris was able to find two people to connect with, and sent letters to both of them. One was from Minnesota, and the other from Illinois. Unfortunately, one never responded, and the other one only exchanged two letters with her, she said.Not to be dismayed, Zatoris said she was determined to find a pen pal who would be faithful and able to share her thoughts and ideas with.One day she saw the name of a girl in North Carolina, Uldine Hundley, who was looking for someone to write to.However, Zatoris said Hundley didn't have the same birth date, as she was born May 3, 1949. But, since the number three matched, Zatoris figured Hundley would possibly write to her anyway.Within a few days, Zatoris said she received a letter from Hundley, who appeared to be as excited as she was to connect and promised to write faithfully."It turned out we had much in common," Zatoris said. "We both came from larger families, having four older siblings and one younger. And one of them was a brother; we were both blessed with several sisters."From that point on, Zatoris said she and Hundley were "bound at the hip with letters of exchange.""As soon as one received a letter, another one was in the mail the same day," Zatoris said. "It was only five cents to mail a letter in those days."Zatoris said the two talked about games they played in the summer, such as Hide and Go Seek, softball with the neighbors, things they did at school and church, and family life in general.As the two reached their teenage years, Zatoris said their relationship remained strong, and they would continue to tell each other what their favorite songs were, shared secrets, and talk about things they did with their friends, and of course, boys.Upon graduation from high school, Zatoris said both women got married and had children. Hundley had two sons, and Zatoris had two daughters.In January of 1979, after Zatoris had her second daughter, she received a phone call from Hundley."All she said was I just had to call after all these years and just hear your voice," Zatoris said. "Hearing that southern accent, I immediately knew it was my pen pal."Zatoris said the two talked for quite some time, and promised to call each other again and to keep writing.While the letters weren't as frequent as they had been in the past, Zatoris said the two managed to write at least once a month and call every now and then.In June of that year, Zatoris said her husband, Steven, asked her if she would like to meet Hundley, to which Zatoris said she would."His response was, "Well call her up and ask her if we can drive down."Thus, Zatoris said she and her husband packed up their children ages four and six months old at the time and headed off to Eden, N.C."Not having a clue where we were going, and no GPS in those days, we first met at the local shopping center in Eden," Zatoris said. "From the very first hug, we both knew that it was our destiny to finally meet."Since then, Zatoris said she and Hundley have visited back and forth, sometimes more than once a year, and continue to exchange letters and cards."I have been blessed with the friendship of my pen pal, and keep Shirley Green informed of our visits whenever I see her and thank her for giving me the opportunity to have this wonderful relationship," Zatoris said. "My regret is that in this day and age of electronics, children will never get to experience the friendship of a pen pal, nor even know how to sit down and compose a cordial letter. How the times have changed."On Dec. 10 of this past year, Zatoris said she and her husband visited Hundley and her husband and shared the same wonderful hugs as the first time they met face to face more than 30 years ago.Zatoris, who resides in Palmerton, currently serves as administrative secretary at Blue Mountain Health System's Palmerton campus, where she has been employed for 44 years.