By Hayley Coble

Walter Library recently received a letter from a grade school student in California. The letter contained a Minnesota postcard along with a plea to return it filled in with information about Minnesota.

If the class gets responses from all 50 states, they win a party! In the letter, the student shared some information about what the Bay Area is like: It sometimes rains, but it never snows, and people mostly wear shorts and T-shirts.

Naturally, I replied and prepared a postcard. After all, when a fifth-grader asks you to help them win a party, you help them win a party! I shared some information about Minnesota — the cold and snow, how people here enjoy being outside (even with all that cold and snow), and that they enjoy biking, camping, and hiking (when there isn’t so much cold and snow).

I also put together a little University of Minnesota Libraries gift package to return to California with the postcard. It included Libraries post-it notes, pencils, stickers, a colorable bookmark, a Libraries map, and a T-shirt from the Walter Breakerspace.

Thanks, new penpal, for bringing a bit of California sunshine to a chilly Minnesota winter. Best of luck with your party, from all of us at Walter Library. Maybe in a few years, when it’s time to think about college applications, you and your classmates will consider the University of Minnesota. The winter isn’t all bad once you get used to it!