Messages of peace, friendship and freedom, authored by students from North Fork Elementary School, were found in the High Sierras and returned to the school 36 years after they were airmailed in a time capsule balloon.
On Jan. 25, 1990, the students at North Fork Elementary wrote letters to the world, launched them in the air and thought they would never see them again.
Much to the surprise of the school staff, a few weeks ago, they received a packet of letters, the exact ones that were written nearly four decades ago.
The letters were found in some bushes around 10,000 feet in elevation at Bighorn Lake near Mount Reinstein. The hikers, who remain anonymous, mailed them back to the school with a letter attached.
“The letters were still attached to the balloon that carried them across the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Your words of peace and freedom are inspiring and have traveled a long way. My heart was so happy after reading all your notes. As requested, I’m sending the letters back to you. A friend from Southern California.”
The letter stated the hikers lived in Trabuco Canyon.
This week, a reunion of some staff and students from 1990 joined current students at North Fork Elementary, and celebrated this rare moment in time.
The students crafted letters and poems with artwork, formed a big circle and launched a new generation of inspiration up in the sky, hoping these new letters to the world will have the same impact.