Story Time: An Old Letter Found

So earlier today I was getting ready to work in the yard. Went to grab my hat that was on the bookshelve. I knocked over the family Bible that was given to me by my Dad. A little history about this book first… I am not a vary religious person, but one of the main reasons why I keep this Bible around is the family history and the memories that are inside these pages. The Bible itself dates back to 1939 and was a gift to my Grandpa Roberts from his father, my Great Grandfather.

The information that my Grandpa kept in here was amazing. There is family history dating back to August 22nd 1840. What I have in my hands is over a hundred and eighty years of Roberts, Elliott, Murphy family history in this book.

I have dates from when people were born and died. There is even marriages and divorce dates. To my amazement there is even SSNs.. The last entry was my date of birth and some of my events that happen when I was a child.

But back to the story of me knocking over a 180 year time bomb earlier today. When the book hit the ground, I quickly picked it up to make sure everything was okay. Then this folded piece of paper fell out of it. It was hidden behind the binding that the Bible was placed around it. Setting the book aside, I very so gently unfolded the paper. It almost feels like it’s going to turn to ash, it’s so old. I see writing and realize it was my Grandmother’s handwriting. There was two pages. One was a love poem and prayer for my Grandpa. The second was a letter explaining the poem and prayer.

Given the events and time line this letter was written. This was during World War 2, while my Grandpa was over in Europe. This letter was to give him comfort and to remind him of home. Grandma’s hope was that he would look at this letter and remember their love for each other, and the life they have together. To remember what is waiting for him when he returns. My Grandpa had this Bible with him every Sunday or around his person at all times.

I remember him always writing in it and reading. Never fully understanding what he was writing in it. But I did know it was important. It wasn’t till my Dad showed me this family Bible we both realized the importance of this book for our family. Now the book has been past down to me and I have been trying everything to restore and save the stories/paperwork. A lot of it is so old, it’s just falling apart. I had to share this with someone, I thought it was rather cool to get a glimpse of my Grandparents personal life.