ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Even in 2024, there’s something exciting about getting a letter in the mail. For many, it just feels more meaningful.

What You Need To Know

  • A St. Pete woman received letters in the mail from a person in London who used to correspond with a pen pal that lived at her address

  • The London woman, named Barbara, said she was corresponding with her pen pal, who had a disability, throughout the 1960s when the letters suddenly stopped coming

  • The current homeowner, Layla Giloy, took to Facebook to see if anyone knew Barbara's pen pal

  • Through her investigation, she learned Alton Bridges Jr., Barbara's pen pal, died in 1977, seven years after the final letter to her

The words on the page can trigger an old memory or a piece of joy that’s been forgotten over the years.

For Layla Giloy, the letters she has do just that, but what’s interesting about Layla’s letters is that she didn’t write them and her only connection to them is her house in St. Petersburg.

“A couple weeks ago,” she said. “I received a very large envelope in the mail, and it was from London, England, which I don't know anybody in London. So, I thought that was a little strange.”

Inside that envelope were these old letters and a new one from a London woman named Barbara.

See, back in the 1960s, Barbara had a pen pal she corresponded with for years.

He was disabled and spent six years developing a friendship with Barbara through letters he sent from his house – the same one Layla now calls home.

“According to her letters, one day, the letters just stopped, and she didn't know what had happened to him,” Layla said.

So, in a last-ditch effort, 50 plus years later, Barbara sent the original letters and her message back to her pen pals’ old home to see if the current owners knew anything about what happened.

“I didn't think it was real at first,” Layla said. “This is kind of the stuff you see in movies, or you see on online and things like that. I said, there's no way that this is happening to me.”

Layla is an EMT, her career is focused on helping people, so she took that to heart with these letters.

After hitting dead ends on her own, she turned to Facebook, asking if anyone knew Barbara’s pen pal. This was the post:

“I definitely did not think that any of this was going to happen,” she said. “I thought for sure it was going to be ‘we have no idea what you're talking about.’”

But, she was wrong.

After some help from a woman who saw her post, she was able to learn that Barbara’s pen pal, Alton Bridges Jr. died in 1977, seven years after his last letter.

“When the letters ended,” Layla said, “I believe he got a little bit sicker, and he did pass away.”

But through her investigation, she learned Alton has relatives that still live in Florida, including a nephew in St. Pete and a foster brother who lives in Gainesville.

“I'm going to be able to pass these letters on to his family,” Layla said. “it's very heartwarming because it's nice to know that even though he passed away so long ago, his life still has meaning. He's still making an impact with people.”

Making an impact, not only with his old pen pal but with a St. Pete homeowner who was just checking her mail.

Layla was planning on meeting Alton’s foster brother last month, but he had to reschedule because of some family health issues.

Layla says she still receives messages from people on Facebook asking to hear if she was able to find out what happened to Barbara’s lost pen pal.