It was in London on Dec. 30, 1947 when Barbara Cowin and Sylvia Gray decided to put their grandest childhood dreams and wishes to pen and paper and then, place their childlike faith and hope entirely on an international postal system for safe delivery.They addressed the envelope simply to "A cow lady on a Ranch in Texas U.S.A., Any Ranch please, Postmaster" and dropped it in the post.

The girls, both aged 12, had survived brutal attacks on London during the war and as a way to cope, become enamored with images of cowboys and cowgirls on horseback they had seen in the moving pictures and photos. Barbara's brother called himself Gene Autry and referred to his sister as Roy Rogers. Surely their imaginations helped them survive the aftermath of that horrific war.

And imagine they did, getting together a few days after Christmas that day and writing down their dearest wishes to a cow lady in Texas. It was certain that St. Nicholas had not delivered the goods, so why not ask someone in Texas? They each asked her for some clothing to fit a girl of 12, please, with Sylvia also asking for a photo of the lady's best horse. She added that she, too, hoped to live on ranch herself one day and had two brothers who were “very keen” on cowboys. As they created their messages, they probably giggled and had great fun. It was an adventure. Would the messages ever be delivered? There was no doubt! But who would the recipient be? Would she respond?

It was all a great mystery, and all the more exciting because of it. With very careful penmanship, Sylvia and Barbara each crafted her own letter to the cow lady and cowboy, giving a small snippet of their family life and petitioning for clothing or photos from the ranch.

They each included a school photo and signed the letters with lots of XXX's. Each folded her note and then put both in one envelope. It was up to the postal delivery system now and the kindness of others. Would the letter address in clear, but definitely childlike handwriting be taken seriously?

There is not a doubt the letter passed through many hands, bringing a smile to many faces on its long journey across the pond to the U.S.A. and Texas, because it did arrive. There isn't any record of how long the journey took, just a postmark of 5 p.m. 30 December on the envelope when it was mailed. It is just a guess that it arrived in the main Austin post office one day, as it is the capital of Texas, for forwarding to “any ranch, please.”

And that could have been the end of the story, because the question now was, "Which ranch?" It could have just as easily been thrown in the dead letter box. In 1947 there were several large ranches in any county in Texas, especially Hays County, but someone at the post office knew of a cow lady on a ranch and wrote on the front of the envelope, “Try Mrs. Michaelis.”

And so the letter was delivered to Mrs. Helen Michaelis on the Michaelis Ranch in Kyle, Texas, where it was discovered 60 years later, safely tucked away in her desk drawer in her old office by her grandson, Max G. Michaelis IV.

Carefully preserved in her old office were the letters from Silvia Gray and Barbara Cowin and their school photos in the envelope.

Helen Michaelis had carefully torn one end of the envelope to extract the letters, preserving the penned “any ranch, please, postmaster” on the lower right hand front. Max doesn't know if his late grandmother ever sent Barbara and Sylvia a picture of her horse or cowgirl outfits, but he would be very interested to find out. (See more on Hays County Historical Commission website.)

Through the kindness of strangers, two little girls reached out to a lady in Texas.

In all likelihood, she did respond, if only with a note or a photo, but evidently the correspondence ended there for there is no other sign of a reply from the girls, which would probably be safely stored with their first request.

All that remains of the adventure is an aged envelope, two letters and two photos, carefully tucked away in Helen Michaelis' desk. Did she write to them? Did the girls write their heartfelt wishes and desires down as a lark? Probably. Did they expect an answer? Definitely. They had complete faith in the postal system. Did they mature and go on creating other scenarios with which to deal with life? Absolutely.

And where are they now? They could be anywhere. They could be in Texas! What are they doing? They are definitely enjoying life wherever they are. These two girls had the imagination to seek what they desired, reach out in communication with people and faith that their wishes might be granted. It couldn't hurt to try, might have been their motto. It's not such a bad motto to live by.