Brittany Keech of Belding, Michigan was surprised to find a 100-year-old postcard in her mailbox.
- The ‘Halloween Greeting’ postcard was dated October 29, 1920.
- Brittany Keech is trying to find the relatives of the family to whom it had been addressed.
- A spokesman for the Postal Service for the Great Lakes area explained how the postcard could have taken so long to get delivered.
On September 8th, Keech received a postcard with the date October 29, 1920 and a green stamp of George Washington.
On the front, an image of a witch and a goose with a pumpkin on its head is depicted whereas the back contains a message in cursive handwriting. The card was addressed to Mrs. Roy McQueen in Belding, Michigan and the message begins with “Dear cousins”. The New York Times reported that Keech was left in awe of the postcard and was keen to find out who she can pass it on to as she said, “I would love to be able to get it to a relative who is alive.”
Roy McQueen and his wife Nora lived at Keech’s address in 1920.
A 1920 census found that at the time, Roy McQueen of Canada and his wife Nora had lived at the address which the card was sent to. The New York Times claims that Mr. McQueen had been an agricultural manager and his wife had been a housewife. Tim Ratliff, the spokesman for the Postal Service for the Great Lakes area, explained how the postcard could have only just been delivered, 100 years after it was sent:
In most cases these incidents do not involve mail that had been lost in our network and later found […] What we typically find is that old letters and postcards — sometimes purchased at flea markets, antique shops and even online — are re-entered into our system […] as long as there is a deliverable address and postage, the card or letter gets delivered.
Tim Ratliff
If Ms. Keech does not succeed in finding the relatives of the McQueens, she is planning to donate the letter to the local museum.
