John Wayne received a letter from this teacher and did something no Hollywood star would do today… March 1961: a teacher in rural Montana asks her 12 students to write a single sentence to John Wayne.

The assistant gets him a car. Wayne drives himself. Eighty miles on rural Montana roads. Two hours. No entourage, no press, no cameras. Just him in a rental car, following directions to a one-room schoolhouse.

She arrives at 2 p.m. There’s class. She can hear voices inside, children reciting something.

She knocks on the door. The room falls silent. Margaret opens it, sees John Wayne standing there… and drops the book she was holding.

—Sr. Wayne…

—I hope I’m not interrupting.

The 12 students are frozen, staring. Several are speechless. A girl starts to cry. Not from sadness: from being overwhelmed.

Wayne enters. The room is tiny. One large room, 12 desks, a wood-burning stove in the corner, a blackboard, an American flag, and at the back, the projector mounted on a table, with 10 film canisters stacked beside it.

Did you receive everything I sent you?

Margaret cannot speak, she can only nod.

Wayne walks over to the projector and touches it.

—Have you been using it every Friday?

Margaret finally manages to say:

—The children eagerly await it all week.

Wayne turns to the students: 12 pairs of eyes fixed on him; some scared, some excited, all incredulous.

—I received your letter, from all of you. Thank you for what you wrote. It meant a lot.