What is a Letter?
2010
If you are old enough you will remember letters. Letters were thoughts on paper which a person wrote by hand. Sometimes a letter took some time to write because one had to think. Usually a person put a date on a letter which helped the recipient to know when it was written and how long it took the Postman to deliver it. The Postman used to sort his mail at the post office and pack it in a big, leather bag. Then, he would walk around the neighborhood, putting letters like this one into mailboxes which were usually on each person’s house. Some people had little slots in their front doors for mail. The Postman would slip the mail through the slot and it would land on the floor.
People usually chose their words carefully when they wrote letters because people kept letters. It also cost a nickle or so to buy a stamp to mail the letter. The cost was determined by the weight and where the letter was going. That is why people used to write letters on thin paper called “onionskin” because it was light weight.
This letter tells the reader many things. Beyond the words are many other clues to the writer and the time. An older person wrote this letter because the handwriting is a little shaky. This grandmother wanted to know how her grandson was doing at his Army summer camp. Since he was her granddaughter’s husband, it reveals the regard this grandmother had for all of her family . . . natural or not. She talks about the weather and the beautiful parade she had watched in the morning. She closes with a wish for his health and safety and signs the letter in a way that all of her family came to love.
Letters are keepsakes. They stop time in place. They help us to recall certain events and of course, certain people.
The reason why I chose to put a letter in All Things Ancestor is because few people write letters anymore. They text and send email. If they write a letter, they do it on the computer because it is faster. It is a romantic notion from the past to sit at a table, dip a pen into an inkwell and write a long letter. If you get a letter . . . save it.
