The Case of the Missing Telegram

I'm a lover of ephemera. I like to hoard it, to look through it, to think about the world that came before me. I even like to cut it up and use it in art. If it's old and made of paper and related to the postal world, chances are I will like it. But there's a dark side to ephemera, particularily letters.

Someone, somewhere loved that piece of paper before I did. A lot of my collection comes from estate sales and ebay auctions, meaning a lot of it comes out of the houses of the deceased. They treasured those letters all of their life and now, their jerk grandkid just wants to make a buck*. (*Or has medical bills to pay or something equally tragic and noble, not all of them are jerks, I know.) It is something that is in the back of my mind whenever I go through a box of old postcards or letters.

That said, I have some wonderful news to share with you. One of our new members, Rachel, sent me a link to her blog where she shares the tale of the above telegram. It came to her as part of a gift packet of miscellanious papers. She was so intrigued by it that she put it up on her blog and asked for ideas about how to research the sender further. With help from her commentors and Google, she solved the mystery. It's a really touching story and I encourage you all to read it. I hope it brightens your day, like it did mine.

 

Comments

[Nicolle]

This is such an amazing and wonderful story.

[Katie Hardesty]

I got chills (and tears in my eyes) while reading this story! Thank you so much for sharing!

[In my hand]

What a great Valentine Story!

[JJalltheway]

Oh my gosh!!! Totally crying. What a perfect Valentines day story!! Thanks so much for that you and Rachel made my day!

[Joan Clarke]

Such a heart warming story, it just made my day. I have loved all things postal for many years. I'm glad this telegram from the past was reunited with it's sender so many years ago and will give her such a wonderful connection to a very happy time in her & her soon to be husband's life.