April 17, 2002
Special delivery surprises Traverse City girl
Olivia DeHaven receives letter from the president about September 11 attacks
By LISA PERKINS
Herald staff writer
Seven-year-old Olivia DeHaven was surprised to see a large manila envelope with the White House as its return address in her mail box last month. Inside was a letter from President George W. Bush, a response to the letter she wrote to him last fall.
After the September 11 terrorist attacks, DeHaven, whose mother was born in New York City, wrote to President Bush expressing her feelings of sadness. The second-grader said she would be brave for her little brother and sisters and that she would be praying for the president, Mrs. Bush and the American soldiers. She signed the letter "your friend, Olivia DeHaven."
"I was really surprised when I got the letter from President Bush," Olivia said. "I took it to school at Eastern Elementary and everybody thought that it was really cool."
In his letter, President Bush thanked Olivia for sharing her thoughts and feelings, saying that he was deeply touched by her concern for those who lost their lives or were injured and for their families and friends. He also said he was encouraged by her kindness and compassion for others.
"I thought it was really great that she got the letter," said Diana DeHaven, Olivia's mother. "I didn't really expect a response, I mean she's just a little girl from the middle of nowhere."
When the DeHaven's made a visit to family members in Ridgewood, N.J. last November, a town that lost 11 residents on September 11, Olivia and her family visited ground zero and shared some patriotic pins with people who were working at the site of the former World Trade Center. The World Trade Center had always held a special significance for the DeHaven family, as Olivia's parents, Bruce and Diane became engaged there.
"We saw the Statue of Liberty and ground zero, it made me scared to see it. I was just glad to be with my Mommy," Olivia DeHaven noted.