PLATTSBURGH -- When Linda Ward received a package on July 29, the last thing she expected to open was a 20-year-overdue present from friends in Russia.

But that's exactly what it was. A book, a hand-written letter and photographs from students she worked with throughout the early '90s was delivered to her doorstep.

The package was meant to reach her in October 1989, but because the woman responsible for delivering it forgot to do so, Ward did not receive it until this year.

STARTED WITH CLUB

Under the umbrella of the Plattsburgh YMCA, Ward had organized an international club in 1988, focusing on teaching children of Plattsburgh about children in other countries.

"My oldest daughter was in middle school, and I realized (that) while she had the opportunity to visit other places, many of her friends and classmates did not."

The club, later named Y Kids Want Peace, became only the second Russian youth exchange in the country, just following a program organized in Burlington.

Later in 1988, Ward was introduced to Mary Socket of New York City, who was organizing an international letter-writing project for children. Coincidentally, Ward later learned that Socket was born in Plattsburgh and continues to visit during the summers.

"Her belief was that kids could make a difference in world peace," Ward said.

Ward became involved with that program, Kids Meeting Kids, and over the next few years played a part in the exchange of letters between American and Russian children. She began to drift from Y Kids Want Peace and focused more on Kids Meeting Kids.

EXCHANGE TRIPS

Kids Meeting Kids was contacted by an organization in Leningrad, Russia, now St. Petersburg, with hopes for a youth exchange.

In 1989, the Plattsburgh International Club raised $25,000 through fundraising and donations to host 20 children and five adults from Russia. A Chicago-based computer company with a branch in St. Petersburg covered their travel expenses.

"We fell in love with one another," Ward said. "Everything that transpired between these groups of people was truly based on our instinct as people to find out about one another, and what we ultimately learned is that we're basically the same."

The next year, 18 middle-school and high-school children and seven adults from Plattsburgh traveled to Leningrad to visit those who had previously visited Plattsburgh.