We never know the outcome when people ask us to find a former resident.

Typically, many years have passed since the person lived in the community, leaving little hope that any family or friends remain.

But the case of the woman from Pennsylvania, Gloria Guyer Delancey, looking for her pen pal from Hillsboro had a happy ending.

The story ran in the Sept. 8 edition. It was about this woman, now 78, wanting to reconnect with Lola Beth Nickel after more than 60 years.

The day after the story came out in the paper, we received a phone call from Kayla Nickel of Hillsboro, who said Lola Beth was her husband’s cousin. She provided a telephone number and address to us, which we gratefully accepted.

A phone call to the James and Lola Beth Ellis residence in Wichita came as a complete surprise. Lola Beth Ellis had no idea that her pen pal from the 1940s was looking for her. Jill, Delancey’s daughter who made the initial contact with the Hillsboro Star-Journal, was excited that her mother’s pen pal had been located.

The two women talked (see related story in this edition) and plan to keep in touch.

Thank you, Kayla, for contacting us and being a faithful reader.

I’m feeling pretty luck right now. Anyone else have any long-lost friends they want us to find?

— susan berg