Nursing Home Resident Receives Postcard from Dead Mother... Sees Her Handwriting and Knows
These days, snail mail has become a thing of the past. With the ease of text messages and Evites, it’s increasingly rare for someone to send a handwritten note or letter.
Even note passing in school has become outdated with most kids owning their own cell phones now. But there are still those of us who cherish the art form of a handwritten letter.
I know I’m not alone in saving shoeboxes full of cards and notes from my loved ones. And those pieces of paper become even more precious when a loved one passes on.
One woman from Goshen, Indiana, certainly relishes this simple pastime. Sharon Gongwer, a resident of Waterford Crossing senior living community, has just received a postcard penned by her mother Mary nearly 60 years ago.
“It’s a touch of my mother. I don’t have many of her things anymore,” Gongwer shared.
But what’s even more fascinating is why the postcard took so long to find its way to the addressee.
Goshen Quality Inn manager Christine Combs explained that she discovered the card in a drawer while clearing out some cabinets and has no clue as to how it ended up there.
“I looked at the date and thought, how strange is that?” she said. I would’ve had the same reaction if I had found a postcard dated Aug. 26, 1958.
It might have been easy for Combs to simply toss the postcard without another thought. Instead she decided to investigate, and Gongwer is so glad she did.
“To have a postcard in this good of condition is amazing,” she explained. The handwriting is in pencil, which one might expect to fade, but the words are still clear and readable — a treasure for this daughter.
The message shares Mary’s travels throughout southern California. The price of postage was only three cents at the time.
But however much it cost, the words of Gongwer’s mother are priceless.
I hope she saves it forever, and passes it down to anyone in her family who didn’t have a chance to know her mother like she did.
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