Pen pals reunited after decades

Katie Beth Ryan
Published: April 16, 2008

A church project started more than 60 years ago has renewed a friendship for one Madison Heights man.

Kyle Baldwin met Hungarian immigrant Anna Maria “Marika” Gaal in February when she visited Madison Heights. But their correspondence began when Baldwin was in elementary school.

A member of Madison Heights Baptist Church, Baldwin’s mother was in charge of assembling care packages for Hungarian World War II refugees.

“They would ask for different things, and we would try to accommodate whatever she needed,” Baldwin said.

Clothes and food were the items sent most often to Gaal, but the pair exchanged gifts as well. Baldwin sent chocolate when Gaal requested it, and she sent him a doll in return.
The pair kept in touch until the mid-1960s but last year Baldwin found an old negative of Gaal while sifting through family photos.

“I told the people that were out there looking (with me), ‘I wish I knew what happened to that little girl. I’d love to know where she’s at’” he said. “And it wasn’t long after that before she showed up.”

Gaal, who now lives in Ada, Ohio, visited her husband Andy’s hometown of Amelia in February. Before returning home, Gaal stopped at the Amherst County courthouse and looked for a mention of Baldwin’s name in court records.

With the help of Roy Mayo, clerk of the Amherst Circuit Court, Gaal located Baldwin at his Madison Heights home.

“She told me that when she got (to the U.S.), she said that one day she hoped to be able to locate me and thank me and my family for what they’d done for her,” Baldwin said.
“It was just an awesome experience. I was overwhelmed and she was too, to finally see each other.”

Ryan writes for the Amherst New Era-Progress.