Talk about a power pen pal.
When Gerry Snyder opened Post Office Box 270 up in Ely last August, he was delighted and shocked to find a handwritten, 117-word letter sent from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to "the town at the end of the road."
On a whim, Snyder had sent the White House a request last spring, asking the commander in chief to contribute a note for inclusion in a time capsule marking the 50th anniversary of the Ely-Winton Historical Society.
Four months later, President Obama apologized for taking so long to respond:
"I hope it's not too late to send greetings to the town of Ely. Fifty years from now ... I hope that we have managed the balance between our energy needs and our need to preserve the planet so that the wilderness surrounding Ely remains as spectacular as you describe it."
As Obama was sworn in for a second term Monday, Snyder said the letter remains heartwarming -- a good thing on a 20-below-zero morning.
"It was a universal yet personal letter, and I didn't know he'd pick mine out of probably thousands he gets," said Snyder, 78. "I was quite surprised and amazed that he took time out and wrote out in long hand and sent it to me."
Snyder grew up on the East Coast, served as a White House Fellow in the 1960s during the Johnson administration and has retired as a financial consultant. According to the Federal Elections Commission, he donated more than $4,000 to Obama's presidential campaigns. He proudly acknowledges voting for Obama twice.
