They were 10 when they started writing to each other. At 50, they finally met.

They were 10 when they started writing to each other. At 50, they finally met.

DETROIT LAKES — Ron Sprafka was a teacher with a love for all things Ireland, Stacey (Pavelko) Larson recalled of her time as a fifth grader at Rossman Elementary nearly 40 years ago. Through a connection with another teacher in Dublin, Sprafka started a pen pal unit — one that would plant the seeds of a lifelong friendship between a young Larson in Detroit Lakes and Suzanne Porter in Dublin. “I can clearly remember my teacher, Miss Maloney, hol…