Recently at Flea Market Love Letter H.Q. we've received some really incredible messages from readers about how letters have played a special role in their lives. As the stories came in I knew we had to create a place where fellow letter lovers can come to celebrate all the things we enjoy about letter collecting. This blog is dedicated to the stories of readers who have generously shared their family histories, personal love stories, and more to honor the power of letter writing.
A Gift for the Family:
Lori shared: "In the early 1990s my aunt and Grandpa were visiting during a visit at our families ranch. Grandpa mentioned he had some love letters written by his parents and showed Aunt Becky the satchel they were kept in. The letters it turned out were actually in the hundreds and all arranged chronologically."
"Prior to my great grandmothers death (who I referred to as Great Mom) my grandfather found her reading through the letters 'one last time'. She had planned to burn them after that but Grandpa was able to convince her not to. Thank goodness!"
"As my grandfather told my aunt the story they realized what a treasure these letters were and what a story they told, not only of my great grandparents courtship but also the beginning of our ranch which now has the 5th generation growing up on it. Together they decided that Aunt Becky would take the letters and make them into something that could be shared with all the family."
"A few years later at Christmas each sibling was presented with a copy of the book A Sagebrush Romance which is a compilation of all the letters. These letters span from their first courtship date to the night before their wedding."
Tory shared: "I have a happy first month anniversary card my grandpa gave my grandma. They were married 63 years. Dick and Connie Casey met during WW2 while Dick was serving
in the Navy and Connie was in the WAVES."
"Dick was delivering a letter into the office where Connie was transcribing and after a love at first site feeling were inseparable for the rest of their lives. They always knew they wanted to be together, they complimented each other so well and were married July 20, 1946."
"They raised a large family of 5 children and 13 grandchildren. They loved each other very much and even 60+ years later Dick would still get Connie flowers for anniversaries, birthdays and sometimes just because he knew she would like to have them. Connie passed away just after their 63rd anniversary and they are both deeply missed by all who knew them."
Sheryl wrote: "My mom & dad wrote to each other everyday the year he was in Vietnam (1969-1970). I have that collection of letters. I remember checking the mailbox everyday to see if we got a letter from daddy. It was years later that I realized my mom had saved all of them."
Love Lost and Found:
Deborah wrote: "I met my husband through the power of the written word. We shared more in letters than we may have ever shared face to face. We were married 23 years and when he passed away way too young. I kept a journal of all of my Gary memories for a year. [...] Sadly, I did not keep the letters after Gary passed away. I thought that they were much too personal for our kids to find someday.
I wanted to add another special letter gift. My son when he was in his 20s lived in Taiwan. Before he left, he gave me a box of card/letters to be read over the year. He wrote 2 for each month. One for the 15 and one for the 30th. He personalized each of them for what would be happening at that time in my life. Those letters are the most amazing gift that I have ever received."
Lost Letters:
Debbie said: " My dad was in the Navy in WWII. He died 2 months before I was born, after surgery. My mom had lots of love letters that my sister and I would read as kids, unbeknownst to our mom! When she was about 75 or 80 she threw them all away. When we asked her why, she said they were just too personal and her friend had done the same."
"I was devastated, but luckily I do have letters he wrote to his parents and sister. I’m now motivated to archive them for the next generations. I think I’ll also type out what they say as the grandkids can’t read cursive! Since I never knew him, these letters mean everything to me. I now also possess letters to my mom from my brother written when he was in the Navy in Vietnam, which I will pass on to his son someday."
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