Sarah York

{{For|the former member of the British royal family|Sarah, Duchess of York}}

Sarah York (born 1978) is an American woman who, at age 10, became the pen pal of Manuel Noriega, the then-de facto ruler of Panama. York began correspondence with Noriega after her father suggested on a whim that she should write to him because she liked the general's hat. This correspondence developed to the point where Noriega invited her family to visit him in Panama. Her family agreed to the visit, seeing it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Overview

York (then 10 years old) and her mother toured Panama from October 5{{cite news |last = Prusi |first = Renee |date = October 5, 1988 |title = Sarah Embarks on Trip to Panama |work = The Mining Journal |location = Marquette, MI |pages = 1A, 5A |issn = 0898-4964 }} through October 11, 1988,{{cite news |last = Hunt |first = Al |date = October 12, 1988 |title = Good-Will Ambassador Welcomed Home Like Hero |work = The Mining Journal |location = Marquette, MI |page = 1A |issn = 0898-4964 }} and they were escorted by a military guard on a tour of the country. She was interviewed constantly during her visit, becoming the main item on the Panamanian news, and the mayor of Panama City awarded her an honorary key to the city.

Upon her return to her home in Negaunee, Michigan, she was praised at first, particularly by her school and community, but soon the story was covered in the national media, where she was derided and ridiculed for befriending an enemy of the United States. Nevertheless, York would visit Panama and Noriega again the following year in October 1989 – just two months before the United States invasion of Panama.{{cite book |last = Murillo |first = Luis E. |title = The Noriega Mess: The Drugs, the Canal, and Why America Invaded |location = Berkeley, CA |publisher = Video-Books |year = 1995 |isbn = 978-0923444020 |page = 690 }} Unlike the previous trip, her second visit was planned as a family vacation and was not at the invitation of Noriega.{{cite news |last = Schneider |first = Dave |date = October 5, 1989 |title = Sarah to Vacation in Panama |work = The Mining Journal |location = Marquette, MI |page = 3A |issn = 0898-4964 }} Accompanied by her father, York visited the country October 8{{cite news |title = Sarah Begins Panama Visit |work = The Mining Journal |location = Marquette, MI |date = October 9, 1989 |page = 3A |issn = 0898-4964 }} through October 17,{{cite news |last = Hunt |first = Al |date = October 18, 1989 |title = Sarah's Back from Panama |work = The Mining Journal |location = Marquette, MI |page = 1A |issn = 0898-4964 }} meeting Noriega while there.{{cite news |title = Sarah York Claims U.S. Lies About Pal |work = The Mining Journal |location = Marquette, MI |agency = Associated Press |date = October 13, 1989 |page = 1A |issn = 0898-4964 }} Her parents were criticized for allowing her to visit Panama, and for encouraging her friendship with Noriega, then a highly controversial figure.{{cite news |title = Noriega's Surrender—Pen Pal: 'Kinder, Gentler Noriega' |newspaper = The New York Times |agency = Associated Press |date = January 5, 1990 |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/05/world/noriega-s-surrender-pen-pal-kinder-gentler-noriega.html?pagewanted=1 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304095107/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/05/world/noriega-s-surrender-pen-pal-kinder-gentler-noriega.html?pagewanted=1 |archive-date = March 4, 2016 }} After her second trip, an editorial in the local newspaper, The Mining Journal, criticized their return trip in the wake of the coup,{{cite news |title = Family's Trips to Panama Legitimize Noriega Regime |department = In Our Opinion |work = The Mining Journal |location = Marquette, MI |date = October 9, 1989 |page = 4A |issn = 0898-4964 }} in contrast to the previous reception a year earlier.

She has since lived on a self-sufficient farm in remote rural Wisconsin, and was interviewed by the radio show This American Life in 2003.{{cite AV media |first= Ira |last= Glass |chapter-url= http://www.thislife.org/radio-archives/episode/246/My-Pen-Pal |chapter= Episode 246: My Pen Pal |at= Act I |type= Podcast |date= September 12, 2003 |title= This American Life |publisher= WBEZ-FM, Chicago Public Media |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100323111520/http://www.thislife.org/radio-archives/episode/246/My-Pen-Pal |archive-date= March 23, 2010 |df= mdy-all }} {{cite web |url = http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/246/transcript |title = Transcript |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141222041650/http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/246/transcript |archive-date = December 22, 2014 }} Her story was used as the basis for a song, "Pineapple Girl" by the indie rock group, Mister Heavenly, on their 2011 album, Out of Love.{{cite news |first = Kevin |last = Curtin |date = August 17, 2011 |url = https://www.popmatters.com/review/146183-mister-heavenly-out-of-love/ |title = Mister Heavenly: 'Out of Love' |work = Pop Matters |access-date = December 21, 2014 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141223020427/http://www.popmatters.com/review/146183-mister-heavenly-out-of-love/ |archive-date = December 23, 2014 }} She has a B.A. in Latin American and Iberian Studies and Creative Writing from Bard College in New York and a Masters of Education from St. Mary's University of Minnesota. She has taught Spanish at Perpich Arts High School in Golden Valley, Minnesota, since 2020.{{Cite web |date = April 17, 2024 |title = Sarah York |url = https://perpich.mn.gov/arts-high-school/staff/sarah-york/ |archive-url = http://web.archive.org/web/20240417001726/https://perpich.mn.gov/arts-high-school/staff/sarah-york/ |archive-date = April 17, 2024 |access-date = November 12, 2024 |publisher = Perpich Arts High School |url-status = live }}

References

{{cite web |first = Susan A. |last = Kitchens |date = August 2, 2006 |url = http://www.2020hindsight.org/2006/08/02/more-on-sarah-york-the-penpal-of-manual-noriega-of-panama-from-her-brother-caleb-york/ |title = More on Sarah York, the Penpal of Manuel Noriega of Panama, from Her Brother, Caleb York |website = 2020 Hindsight }}
{{cite news |title = A Young Noriega Fan Ruffles Her Neighbors |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/17/world/a-young-noriega-fan-ruffles-her-neighbors.html |page = A8 |newspaper = The New York Times |agency = Associated Press |date = October 17, 1989 }}
{{cite news |last = Walte |first = Juan J. |title = U.S. Pen Pal Appears with Noriega |newspaper = USA Today |date = October 12, 1989 }}{{page needed|date= May 2017}}

Sarah York

Overview

See also

References

Further reading