Scoop Saturday: Iowa Man Receives 33 Year Old Postcard
An Iowa man, who received a postcard from his sister, said he was surprised to note the card had been mailed in 1987. Paul Willis, a hog farmer in Thornton, said a postcard appeared in his mailbox, recently, from his sister, Annie Lovell […]. [H]e soon noticed the card bore a picture of Lovell on a Grand Canyon hike in 1987 and a San Francisco postmark from December of that same year.
Willis said the postcard bore a second postmark from April 29 of this year in Des Moines so, he called the post office to see if they had any explanation for the postcard’s tardiness. [An] employee said the postcard may have been discovered while furniture and machines were being moved for cleaning. “She said, ‘Well, the post offices are all going through deep cleaning because of COVID-19…'” Willis [recounted to] the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat.
An Illinois woman experienced a similar incident in July 2019, when a postcard showed up at her home that had been mailed 26 years earlier. Kim Draper said the card was addressed to the previous residents of her Springfield home and, [it] recounted the residents’ father’s travels in Hong Kong.
Ben Hooper
United Press International
May 7, 2020
No Video Clip
Short Piece on Kim Draper
May 10, 2020 at 12:44 AM
I’m glad he wasn’t waiting for a heart or kidney… lol. I love this…that post card means more now than it would have if it would have arrived on time.
May 10, 2020 at 1:24 AM
It’s definitely a novelty, now and a conversation piece…both of them.
May 10, 2020 at 1:26 AM
It’s like a time capsule. I wonder if his sister is still alive?
May 10, 2020 at 1:27 AM
Good question. Apparently Ben wasn’t interested enough to ask.
May 10, 2020 at 1:29 AM
I read the Pete Townshend bio…he had saved a letter from a fan from 1967 put it aside to open it up later in his life. It was pretty cool…just a normal fan letter.
May 10, 2020 at 1:33 AM
Warm fuzzies. It’s a link to the past. It’s like finding a lost object in your garage or attic from 30 years ago and everything associated with it comes rushing back.
May 10, 2020 at 1:34 AM
That is the basis of my blog!
May 10, 2020 at 1:40 AM
It’s also why I am a history buff. I was born curious and ask a lot of questions. I’ve had people ask me “why do you want to know?” IDK. Just curious…filling up the storage space in my head, just for shits and giggles…
May 10, 2020 at 1:42 AM
Before the internet…I would get calls at work…hey Max…who sings that song that has this in it? When did this song come out?
My head is pretty full of useless stuff.
Also when I watch a show…I wonder…hmmm where is that desk right now? Is it still around?
May 10, 2020 at 2:43 AM
Speaking of movie props, I just saw a “How It’s Made” on the Science Channel, yesterday. They were refurbishing/rebuilding a De Lorean (actually, it looked like a fleet of them).
Some things I find interesting. A lot of real iconic stuff winds up in the Smithsonian.
May 10, 2020 at 3:21 AM
I would LOVE to go to the Smithsonian. Buster Keaton sent some things there…Archie Bunker’s chair and Barney Miller’s in and out board is there.
May 10, 2020 at 3:19 PM
The Fonz’s jacket… I’d love to go, too.
May 10, 2020 at 3:51 PM
Yes…I’d like to see that also
May 10, 2020 at 11:19 PM
One of the best things about moving to the DMV for me seven years ago was the easy access to the Smithsonian museums. The museum of American History is one of the best. The chair, the board, the jacket and the ruby slippers too, all in one place!
May 10, 2020 at 11:42 PM
DMV?
May 10, 2020 at 11:46 PM
Oh sorry, DC, Maryland, and Virginia. In the DC metro area we call it the DMV.
May 10, 2020 at 11:51 PM
OH! Well, THAT explains a lot! LOL! I was REALLY scratching my head because…I am a former DMV employee here in NC. Twice. I was with DMV Enforcement 1992-2001 and DMV Driver’s License 2014-2016. I should have known better than to go back.
Woo, buddy. You live in one the most expensive places in the US but, WOW the modern culture. How is the traffic?
May 11, 2020 at 11:23 PM
Up until two months ago the traffic was horrible. Now, not so much. I’ve always admired the ability of DMV employees to deal with a decidedly surly, rude, ungrateful public. One that then turns around and blames the system on the employees.
May 12, 2020 at 12:51 AM
The key to that is…be an Examiner in a small town. I wouldn’t have taken the job, otherwise. When I was with them, previously, I was in a larger city but, it was law enforcement so, my office was in a Trooper Station. The Examiners there didn’t have to worry much about people getting nasty. My guys and the Troopers would straighten that right on out. In fact, both of my jobs were in Trooper stations…Durham and here in Hillsborough.
COVID certainly has tamed the traffic.