It's a small world (non-Disney Edition)

     So many good things have come from writing my first book, and now there's one more thing. Last week I did a book reading at the Timberland Library in Winlock, Washington. I've written about the Timberland Library System and the impact it had on my life here. I was there with fellow writer Lynn Britton and we both did readings from our books, had a Q & A session, signed some books and had a very nice time.
     Just prior to that, The Centralia Daily Chronicle had done a nice write up on the appearance. Then, the night before I drove down to Winlock, I got a message on my Facebook Writer's Page from a man I hadn't spoken to in about thirty years. He had been a roomer at my grandmother's small rooming house in the 1970's, and he had an interesting story to tell me.
     He told me that he had gone by a Yard Sale that was being held at my grandmother's house in Centralia a number of years ago. As he was leaving the yard sale, he walked by a pile of trash left out at the curb to be hauled away. To him, it looked like photos and other family memorabilia. He plucked the box full of family treasures and took it home with him. Unfortunately, by then he had lost touch with anyone from my family, and he had no way to return the box to us.
     Until this week. He saw the article in The Chronicle about me and my book, which included a link to my FB page. In that first message, he asked me if I would be interested in finally retrieving this box full of photos, negatives, cards and letters dating back to the 1930's. Obviously, I was, and I did so on the way to Winlock. I am specifically not mentioning the man's name who acted as curator of our family's history for so many years. He is a private man, and I want to respect his privacy. 
     Dawn and I have spent wonderful hours these past few days going through this box. We found my Uncle Tom's pay booklet from when he was a soldier during World War II. His chevrons are also in the box, along with a number of school photos like the one at the top of this blog, showing the 4th grade class of Mossyrock Elementrary Circa 1944. The bottom line is, even before I get the thousands of old negatives developed to see what further treasures await, this has been a find beyond any expectation and it is priceless to me. I wanted to take this blog to say a public thank-you to our benefactor who gave us such an unexpected gift. 
     I haven't even been able to identify any of the children who are in this photo, but I love looking at it. A little quick math tells me that all those fresh-faced children are about 80 years old today, if they are still with us. It brings an interesting perspective to all our lives.