Letters to their
The post got thousands of likes and caught the eye of a friend of one of Ilaine and Elias’ children, Barbara Maxwell Murray. Barbara had seen Lindsy’s original message but thought it had been a scam. Now, staring at the photo of the envelopes, her breath caught. That’s Mom’s writing!
Barbara messaged Lindsy, which led to a phone call.
Barbara told Lindsy that after her dad returned from the war, he and her mom had married in 1948. “They had a happy life. We miss them both very much,” Barbara said, explaining they’d also lost their mom in 2010 to Alzheimer’s.
Sadly, a reverse mortgage with outrageous fees had led to their home’s foreclosure. “The contents were sold off before we could remove boxes of memories from the basement,” Barbara shared. “We had no idea the letters even existed.”
“Megan and I want to get them back to you,” Lindsy told Barbara, excitedly. And Barbara was touched and stunned when Lindsy told her,
“They’re too precious to mail. We’ll drive to New Jersey and deliver them.”
“You’re our angels,” Barbara cried, wiping tears and presenting Lindsy and Megan with cardinal bracelets identical to those all the Maxwell girls wear to remember their parents.
Then Barbara and her siblings took Lindsy and Megan on a tour of Blackwood. They even got to visit Ilaine and Elias’s home, which Barbara’s daughter had bought back.
“We already felt like we knew Elias and Ilaine but to be in their hometown, we felt a real connection to them,” says Lindsy.
“It was incredible,” Megan echoes. Barbara and her family agree.
“To have a piece of my parents, to see what their life was like when they were young and in love…I’m just so grateful,” Barbara beams. “If Mom and Dad were here, my mom would be blushing, but my dad would be saying, ‘How about that?!’ and do a little tap dance. Just goes to show, love finds a way!” —Michelle Abrams
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Whether it’s jewelry, glassware or pottery, most items have a tiny marking representing the manufacturer or maker’s name. Once you’ve spotted a specific marking on your item, you can track down more information in a “marks dictionary” at your local library or on the internet by typing in a description of the mark.
Research your antiques using the free price guide at Kovels.com. Type in a description of the item, but keep your search specific to narrow down results. Then sift through results until you find a corresponding item. From there, you’ll see the current value and a description and how much it’s being sold for on other websites.