What's in a letter

Here's the kind of thing that shows up. Every one is different, because every one is written for one person.

How often

One letter a month.

How long

One page, 7 by 10 inches, both sides at most. About 250 to 400 words.

Who writes it

A neighbor who lives in or near your town, signed with their first name and town.

How

By hand, in blue-black ink. Never printed, scanned, or written by a machine.

When it mails

By the 15th of each month, with a real First-Class stamp.

Your first letter

Sign up by the 5th and it mails that month. After that, it mails the next month.

• Not ads. No coupons, QR codes, or inserts from anyone, ever.
• Not a newsletter reprint. Nothing in your letter shows up in the Buzz.
• Not news coverage. It's a neighbor telling you what they think is worth your time.
• Not a form letter. Two members in the same town get different letters.

SAMPLE LETTER. Names and details are made up to show you the idea.

SAMPLE

HOMETOWN LETTERS

October 2026

Dear Sarah,

You told us you like a good walk and a good meal, so I saved you both. There's a new bakery a couple blocks off the main drag. Go early. The cinnamon twists are gone by 9 and the owner will tell you, a little proud, that it happened again.

For your walk, try the creek trail at the end of the morning, when the fog lifts off the water and the dog walkers have gone home. Wear real shoes. It gets muddy by the second bridge.

On your way back, look at the stone house on the corner by the library. It was a tavern long before it was anything else, and you can still see where the old front door got bricked in. I walk past it twice a week and still look.

Your neighbor,

Margaret

Marshallton

P.S. You said you just moved here. The big oak on your street turns first every year. Watch for it.

LETTER NO. 1 · WRITTEN FOR SARAHNOT IN THE NEWSLETTER

• Her picks: food and walks.
• A line just about her town.
• The P.S. is only for you.