{"id":30399,"date":"2016-10-27T07:04:34","date_gmt":"2016-10-27T11:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=30399"},"modified":"2016-10-29T19:49:01","modified_gmt":"2016-10-29T23:49:01","slug":"circle-letter-sisters-class-1966-reunite-homecoming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2016\/circle-letter-sisters-class-1966-reunite-homecoming\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Circle letter sisters’ from the class of 1966 reunite at Homecoming"},"content":{"rendered":"

What to do when graduation fast approaches and your friends will disperse to Who Knows Where, possibly never to be heard from or seen again?<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s world, staying in touch is as easy as the touch of a screen or the push of a button, but in 1966, that certainly wasn\u2019t the case.<\/p>\n

That spring of 1966, eight Eastern Mennonite College seniors, all elementary education majors, decided to stay in touch with a circle letter. The women collected addresses, walked across the stage to collect their diplomas, and then headed into the world to begin teaching jobs.<\/p>\n

Lois Moyer went as far as McGaheysville, where she taught that fall, and Peggy Halteman went to Staunton. But most of the others scattered farther away, to Pennsylvania and Ohio, even to Newfoundland. And the Circle Letter kept going \u2026 and going.<\/p>\n

\"50-year-circle-letter-1\"<\/a>
The address “book” that Dolores Bauman started upon graduation in 1966. It contained the orginal addresses of the eight circle letter participants, and then became a record of a lifetime of moves.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHonestly, we never thought it was going to go on this long,\u201d said Lois.<\/p>\n

Globe-trotting news<\/h3>\n

The Circle Letter has bound them in a sisterhood. In the course of 50 years, their communication covered the miles across seven states and four countries. In the ensuing years, the letters carried news of marriages, brief get-togethers, travels, the births of 16 children and then years later, the births of 25 grandchildren. The letters have helped the women support each other through life\u2019s ups and downs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve gone through a lot together,\u201d said Miriam Bauman Allison. \u201cWe\u2019ve hit things in our lives at the same time, like helping aging parents and then losing our parents. We\u2019ve helped each other with depression and illness. It\u2019s been a really wonderful connection and support system for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Oct. 13, the women met for only the third time since 1966 for dinner at the Thomas House in Dayton. The event coincided with their class reunion the next day at EMU\u2019s Homecoming and Family Weekend.<\/p>\n

In attendance were<\/p>\n