Saturday, May 08, 1999
Pen pals find faces behind names
Picnic unites 6th-graders from Anderson, Over-the-Rhine
BY CHRISTINE WOLFF
The Cincinnati Enquirer
ANDERSON TOWNSHIP — Children who had met only through letters met in person Friday — and delighted in seeing the faces behind the words.
At first, shyness kept the youngsters looking down and mumbling “hellos,” as pen pals were introduced. Then, the sound the adults had awaited: Laughter, gushing forth in spurts as the children relaxed and warmed to new friends.
The scene unfolded at Veterans Park, adjacent to Ayer Elementary School in suburban Anderson Township. Ayer's sixth-graders held a picnic for their pen pals from Washington Park Elementary School in Cincinnati's inner-city neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine — two schools geographically and culturally miles apart.
The distance could be covered, the youngesters discovered, by the long list of things the pen pals had in common — from listening to rap music to favorite colors to liking sports.
“She forgot to tell me that she had a niece named "Clara Ann,' ” Clara Ann Show, 13, of Washington Park, teased her Ayer pen pal, Angela Summers.
New friends learned, too, how their lives differ.
“I think they have a different view of life,” said Ayer student Ben Flowers, 11 “They live in a big city, and this is like being in the country. Sometimes, bad things can happen downtown. It's more peaceful here. I would like to see their school and their part of downtown.”
Michael Fulcher, 9, of Washington Park, enjoyed getting away from “all the ghetto talk and people being rude” in his neighborhood.
“This has been a great field trip,” he said.
For three years now, Ayer's four sixth-grade classes have written to Washington Park students. It's the third year, too, for the school-day picnic at Veterans Park, commemorated by stone markers placed in the park's flower beds.
Carved in the stones, the project's mission: “Growing Together — Ayer-Washington Park.”
Sue Hughes, an Ayer parent who volunteers as a tutor at Washington Park, started the pen pal project three years ago with her son's sixth-grade class.
“It breaks down barriers, and it's fun for all the kids,” she said.
Perry Ratto, a Washington Park teacher, knows the world her students come from, one without a lot of opportunities, she said.
“They rarely have a chance to get out,” she said. “The first year, some of the kids rolled in the grass — they were so excited to see all this space. Some have never been in a park like this.”
“We're just taking the day for what it is,” she said. “We're not trying to solve any big problems today. It's a step. Our kids do need to get along with others. That's our goal.”
The picnic gave students from both schools a chance to demonstrate they have absorbed what teachers and parents have been preaching, said Kathy Spratley, a Washington Park teacher.
“It's important to learn to respect everyone. It's time to show they've learned that lesson,” she said.
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