Joseph.
Yes I had pen-pals as a child. In third grade we were assigned pen-pals in Jewish communities around the world. Each year through 6th grade an additional pen-pal was added to our list. We were expected to write a monthly letter to each pen-pal, so by 6th grade that worked out to a letter per week. My mother would take me to the post office to purchase Aerogrammes on which to write.
I had pen-pals in Israel, South Africa, Canada(Montreal) and Uruguay. I continued correspondence on a regular basis through my Junior High years.
In the summer of 1962 I met my Israeli pen-pal during a family trip to EY. We have remained friends for 55 years and have shared family simchas. Our grandaughters went to summer camp together 2 years ago.
I met my pen-pal from Montreal in Miami Beach in the 1970s when we were both vacationing there. He left Montreal during the anti-English blitz of the early 80s and I lost track of him.
I was in South Africa for much of the late 1970s and met my former pen-pal and his extended family. My newest son-in-law is a cousin’s child.
The pen-pal in Uruguay was the shortest duration, ending in 7th grade. I never met him and have no idea where he ended up. While visiting Uruguay I was unable to trace the family.
My eldest children had pen-pals, my youngest were of the email generation and not interested. My grandchildren seldom pick up a pen except for in school or obligatory handwritten thank you notes. They have no interest in pen-pals.
When we broke up my parents’ CT home we found shoe boxes full of aerogrammes saved from our assorted pen-pals. One long summer Shabbos afternoon I enjoyed reliving my letters.