First-grade teachers Pattie Sutton and Gay Moss have been friends for 30 years though they teach school in different counties - Sutton in Chesterfield and Moss in Henrico. They met through their husbands who work together. A few years into their friendship they started talking about how fun it would be to get their two classes to become pen pals. Soon, a 28-year-old tradition was born.

In the beginning, Sutton taught at Falling Creek, but she moved to Evergreen Elementary in 1987 when the new school opened. Moss teaches at Tuckahoe Elementary.

"When we first started pen palling, we just had the children write back and forth, and that was all there was to it," Sutton said. "We did that for a few years, and then in 1986, we decided to let the kids meet. We did a field trip to Maymont, and the kids just went wild. They didn't really get to know each other."

The following year, Sutton invited Moss's class to spend the day in their Evergreen classroom. The arrangement worked, so the two women began alternating playing host to their sister pen pal classrooms.

"They love writing and receiving the letters from their pen pals, but meeting in person really makes the friendship come alive," Sutton said. For their spring get-together, the children interview each other to find out about family members and favorite books and movies, then they do crafts and have a picnic. At the end of the day, there are often a few tears.

This year, there were more than usual. Moss is taking early retirement, so the pen pal tradition ends - at least among these two classes.

"It was a bittersweet gala," Moss said of the May 8 event. "But if I'm missing it terribly, I can come and see Pattie's class or one of the Henrico County teacher's classes, but it won't be the same."

Sutton is not yet ready to hang up her teaching hat, so she is looking for a new classroom to pen pal with. Evergreen has seven first-grade classrooms, so she'd like to find another Chesterfield elementary school with seven first-grades so all of the children can participate.

Still, there were some advantages to the cross-county arrangement.

"It was great for the children and for Pattie and I to see another county's school and how it works," Moss said. "Within the county, everything is very similar. We use the same books. Chesterfield does many things differently from Henrico."

Exchanging letters was a breeze because the two women live close to each other.

"I'd dump a pile of letters on her car in the morning, and she'd take them to the children," Sutton said. "A week or so later, she'd dump a pile of letters on my car."

The pen pals wrote about once a month. They included stickers, pens, pencils and other little gifts with their letters as an added incentive. Opening letters was always a highlight left as a treat at the end of the school day.

"In the beginning of the year, I have to read or help the children with almost all of the letters," Moss said. "By the end of the year, they are reading them all on their own."

In addition to teaching good old skills like penmanship and how to write a friendly letter, the children learned socialization skills, questioning techniques and even empathy.

"It taught them a little compassion," Sutton said. "The letters will say, 'I'm sorry you were sick. I hope you are feeling better.' They showed true concern for their new friend."

Another unexpected benefit was making connections that extend beyond the first grade.

"One of my students ended up going to the Governor's School, and when they were calling role, she recognized a name," Sutton said. "She went up to the young lady and said, 'Were you my pen pal?' The same thing happened when we matched two Jewish children together. They ended up at the same Hebrew School."

A few weeks into each school year, the teachers would meet to determine who would make the best match for each child. They tried to link pen pals with similar backgrounds or interests.

"This program has really been a success," Sutton said. "The children are so excited about it. I've had some kids with broken arms, but they will type their letters. They don't want to miss writing to their pen pals."

Check out more stories in this edition of the Chesterfield Observer, now a weekly publication.