The Unposted Letter
I have a confession to make. My name is Chloe, and I'm a hoarder. Now, I know that word evokes visions of a house filled with newspapers piled head high, a year's worth of unopened tuna cans, and cat poop that has been left so long it has formed a small coffee table. Thankfully I'm not at that level. I do however have a three-car garage filled with furniture and keepsakes from several relatives who have passed away over the span of the last 30 years.
There were so many boxes that have been moved and repacked over the years, but there seemed to be no real logic or order to them. So even though they were dusty and may have at first glance appeared to be full of things that could be discarded, each one had to be checked.
I was so lucky to find photos of my grandfather and my mum as a child that I had never seen before. Photos of long-dead relatives and property that I could identify thanks to careful and extensive note-taking on the back. I even came across a letter to my great Aunt from Banjo Patterson's son Hugh.
Thankfully, having listened intently to family stories over the years, I knew why this would be there. One of my blood relatives is mentioned in Clancy of the Overflow, and the family was certain that he had been the inspiration for The Man from Snowy River. Hugh had written to let my Aunt know that his dad had always said that the famous Australian poem had been based on parts of several people, although not one in particular. Still nice to have, given the letter itself was now 80 odd years old.
That was also not to be the oldest piece of correspondence I found. In a beautiful red box that I had seen on and off over the years of packing and repacking but never looked closely at the contents I found letters dating from 1918 to the mid-1930s from my great grandfather to my great grandmother during the times he had been working away from the family home. They span the time they were courting, through being newlyweds and having their children. All perfectly preserved and a fascinating read. My great grandfather writes with a very similar style to me, by which I mean a little sarcastic and in the manner in which you can imagine from the letters how he spoke.
Then came the most fascinating find. A typewritten card, which was obviously one of several, explaining to people that the reason they hadn't got their Christmas cards from my great Aunt that year was that she passed away before being able to send them, dated 1967. Then there underneath, was a handful of perfectly preserved, addressed, sealed, and ready to post Christmas Cards. It was like finding a message in a bottle, and I was determined to get them to their final destination.
One of my relatives, however, was less sure. "What if she knew it was her last chance to confess that she had been having it off with someone's husband" and my quizzical response was "In a Christmas Card?"
It should be noted that most of these cards are addressed to properties or addresses in small country towns. Several of my great Uncles passed on between 20 and 30 years ago, and if a letter arrived at any house in their hometown, I guarantee it would end up with one of our relatives. I understand some of them might be disregarded, but what if someone writes back?
Part of me feels like if it’s one of the last things she did, I owe it to her to get them where they were meant to go. Would you post the cards? Feel free to check-in at the On the Tour with the Kid Facebook page and let me know.
