By Staff
Leada Gore, Editor
Years ago, I was sitting in my office at the newspaper when a letter landed on my desk.
I opened it and found a standard-issue 50th anniversary announcement.
I scanned over the information and noticed it appeared the person’s math was off. According to what I was reading, the difference between the date the couple married and the date I received the notice was 51 years, not 50.
Luckily, there was a contact number on the item and I was able to call and check the discrepancy.
I told the lady we had just received it that day – almost one year to the day from when she mailed it. Her home was about 20 minutes away from our newspaper office and the letter had apparently been floating around for one year between her house and our building.
We both had a good laugh and she was happy to know the newspaper had not just ignored her announcement. We ran the announcement, honoring the couple on the occasion of their 51st anniversary.
I thought of this story this week when I read the tale of a letter received by Brian McAteer of Ferndale, Penn. McAteer recently received a letter that has apparently been floating around since 1954.
McAteer received the letter – complete with its 3-cent stamp – at his home. It was addressed to Frederick Zane Yost, a man McAteer doesn’t know. The letter contained a return address but no return name.
The letter has been sealed and it appears, never opened.
Now, McAteer is on a mission to find Yost. Some simple investigation revealed Yost’s parents lived in the area but it appeared the younger Yost has moved.
The Post Office said it’s not sure why the letter was delayed for so long.
And I believe they will. And somewhere, out there, Mr. Yost may have been waiting for this long-lost letter that could have changed his life. Or, maybe, it was just junk mail that would have ended up in the trash anyway.
Either way, the way I see it, someone owes the Post Office 36 cents. Stamps have gone up quite a bit since 1954.