Letters keep on rolling in

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

February 1997

By Devlyn Brooks

Staff Writer

Eighty-three-year-old Anne Fairbanks of Bemidji was given an invitation to the 1997 presidential inauguration two weeks ago -- something only one-fourth of 1 percent of Americans receive.

And she is not sure why. She said she has written a couple of letters to President Clinton, but she only donated about $100 to his campaign. So the invitation was a surprise.

However, this is not a new occurrence for Fairbanks. She was also invited to President Jimmy Carter's inauguration in 1977, more than likely as a result of writing letters to him also.

Some people collect stamps, coins or baseball cards. Fairbanks writes letters ... letters to presidents, celebrities and even foreign leaders. That's her hobby.

Her letters to the Clintons, both Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton, are what she figures got her the inaugural invitation.

"It's the only thing I can think of," she said.

Fairbanks started writing letters 30 years ago. Her first was to Betty Ford, wife of former President Gerald Ford. Ford was afflicted with the same type of cancer Fairbanks had. So she wrote Ford a letter of support and received a reply thanking her.

"She was the president's wife, and I thought she would get so many letters she would never reply," she said. "I never expected an answer."

The reply thrilled Fairbanks. So, she continued to write letters to other famous people. her little black book has grown astonishingly.

A visit to Fairbanks' house is a veritable, 30-year history lesson. Autographed pictures and letters of reply adorn the walls.

There is Dan Rather; Walter Mondale; Prince Charles; the Kennedys; Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton; John Wayne; Red Skelton; the Pope; Lady Di; Fidel Castro; Hubert Humphrey; Frank Sinatra; King Faud of Saudi Arabia; King Hussein of Jordan; and the royalty of Monaco. The list is endless, and she has written, by hand, letters to every one of them.

"I've got 'em all over the house. There in the kitchen, in the living room, in my bedroom, and there are even some more upstairs," she said. "I've got 'em here. I've got 'em there. I've got 'em all over."

Fairbanks said the letter writing keeps her from feeling lonely. Ever since her husband died, the letter writing has been a friend.

"It's something to get interested in. You don't feel so lonely when you get mail," she said. "I just like it. You get a little mail like that, you get perked up."

She said getting the addresses to celebrities is the biggest challenge, but she does not remember from where she has gotten them all. She thinks from newspapers.

The replies are not hard to get, according to Fairbanks, as long as you write a polite letter. Sinatra seems to answer better than the rest though.

So, what does she write about when writing to President Clinton?

"I just talk to him like I would anybody else. I tell him about where I live and what it's like. I tell him about my family and how patriotic they are," she said. "I had one brother killed in action and another wounded in 'The War.' My nephew went ashore with the troops in the Normandy invasion."

Fairbanks can only recall three people who have not answered her letters. The first was Queen Elizabeth, and "she just doesn't write back to anyone." The second was Katherine Hepburn. She received a letter back from Hepburn's press agent saying she did not give autographs. The third was from O.J. Simpson, who was in prison when she wrote to him. The prison wrote to her telling her O.J. was receiving too much mail to be allowed to give autographs to everyone.

The letter writing allows Fairbanks to keep up with politics. It is a way to stay in touch with what is going on, she said. For instance, if GOP Bob Dole had been elected, he would not have received a letter from her. She is a staunch Democrat.

"How about 'Newty,'" she said mockingly of Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich. "I should get Newty's picture."

Fairbanks is realistic about the letters. She admits that most of them are probably written by staff members, but this does not daunt her game.

"I know the president or the others aren't necessarily the ones writing the letters to me. It's probably ... mostly their staff," she said. "But this is still fun to wonder which ones have. That is why I still do it."

Will she be able to attend President Clinton's inauguration? No, but it does not mean she will not be invited in 2001.