Susan Writes

A tattered cardboard box filled with letters has been in a corner of a room at our house since 1992.  Not long after Mom’s death, Dad moved from his home in Byrdstown, Tennessee.

            Dad sold the house that he and Mom built in 1947, the house I grew up in, and he moved to an apartment here in Cookeville. My emotions were too raw to read those letters so soon after Mom’s death and after helping Dad clean out the only house I’d known as his and Mom’s home.

            The letters were tied with narrow satin ribbons.  Some red.  Some pink and blue – the soft hues that would be wrapped around a baby’s gift.  I looked at those ribbons and thought Mom tied those.

            At the time, Dad explained that most were letters he’d written to Mom while he was in the Army.  He served from October 1943 to April 1946, the last two years of World War II and seven months after the end of the war.  

Dad didn’t want to talk about his letters – only to tell me that the signatures on the bottom left-hand corner of envelopes that he’d mailed while stationed in Europe indicated that the letters had been approved by an examiner. 

Dad died in 1997, never looking at the letters. He did identify himself and friends in some black-and-white photos. He was a really good looking solider when he was stationed in Camp Barkley, Oklahoma for basic training.

            Through the years, I’ve read a few letters and every time I had to be careful that my teardrops didn’t smudge the ink.  And every time, I’d think that I needed to get the letters out of the box, but the task seemed overwhelming and I didn’t know how to best store them. 

            About two months ago, I gave up the excuse that I didn’t know how.  I met Megan Atkinson, Tennessee Tech University archivist, and told her about Dad’s letters.  “What should I do to save them?” I asked.

            Her response, while kind and gentle, was immediate and direct.  “Get them out of the envelopes and lay them flat.”  She explained that folded paper becomes weak and tears easily.  “Use a plastic paper clip to attach each letter and its envelope to a blank sheet of paper and store them in acid free folders.”

And I learned that I shouldn’t lay the folders on top of each other because weight weakens paper and to use acid-free storage boxes.   

I asked for help.  Following Megan’s directions, Daughter, two Grands, and I sorted and stored Dad’s 147 letters. We reminded ourselves to stay on task, but my two teen-age Grands found some treasures.  One is a picture of their great-grandfather standing in front of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

            Since Mom’s birthday is November 7 and Veteran’s Day is November 11, it’s a good time to honor Mom and Dad.  Time to read and share these letters with their grandchildren and great-grands.    

Filed under: Family | Tagged: Dad's letters, letters |