June 6, 2016
June 6, 1944: “Today is the day”
On June 6, 1944, the mother of Lou B.—who at the time was in military training in Massachusetts—wrote this letter capturing her reaction to the D-Day invasion.READ MORE
June 3, 2016
March 8, 1944: “A budded flower and the sun that enters the room…”
Second to Marcel Heuzé’s letters, this postcard has been the most incredible find.READ MORE
May 26, 2016
Book Blurb: Elizabeth Rynecki
We pick a font hoping it says something about us; that we are creative, intellectual, or have business know-how. But what happens when a font picks a graphic designer and turns her world upside down and inside out? Working from a handful of fragile and translucent pages written in a language she doesn’t speak, Carolyn sets out to uncover not only the mystery of Marcel's life, but in the process finds her own passion to create a font in his honor. In Marcel’s Letters, Carolyn rescues one man’s legacies, and ultimately gifts us with her own.
– Elizabeth Rynecki, author of the forthcoming book and documentary Chasing Portraits
May 26, 2016
“Marcel’s Letters” has found a publishing home
You know those times when you have news so big to share it feels surreal to actually share it? READ MORE
May 22, 2016
A visit to the Fagen Fighters WWII Museum
Curtiss P40-E Warhawk, the “Desert Shark.” Restored by Fagen Fighters restoration.
Two weeks ago, I received a phone call extending an invitation for my Uncle Allen to be a guest of honor at a special event at the Fagen Fighters WWII Museum.READ MORE
May 17, 2016
August 12, 1944: “I always wait impatiently for the end.”
This postcard was written August 12, 1944 by a man named Marcel.READ MORE
May 11, 2016
December 4, 1942: “I hope that dreadful war will end soon…”
I presume this postcard was written by a Dutch laborer; clues include the date, the censor marks, the fact she was in Berlin. READ MORE
May 5, 2016
Holocaust Remembrance Day
Earlier this year, my 91-year-old uncle, Allen Porter, was invited to be part of a panel of veterans at a WWII lecture at Fort Snelling. The topic was the liberation of the concentration camps. READ MORE
April 23, 2016
First official “in the wild” sighting of Marcel!
I will begin with an apology. I did not intend to walk into the bookstore and blurt out the words, “Holy shit!”READ MORE
April 6, 2016
February 21, 1944: “…stay brave, that’s what helps us to go on living.”
It might seem strange to say, but since finding Marcel’s letters, it feels as though other letters have found me. This is one such letter, which I recently had translated into English.READ MORE
April 1, 2016
Berchères-la-Maingot, 1906/1907
I’ve seen several old, photo postcards of Berchères-la-Maingot, the village where Marcel’s wife and daughters lived during World War II. Some images show bucolic rural settings, others show the harsh reality of hard-working farm and country folk scratching a living out of the earth. READ MORE
March 26, 2016
Smells and Sounds in Literature
Yesterday, I took a class at the Loft Literary Center taught by the powerhouse writer/instructor Mary Carroll Moore. Mary packed the day with ideas and information on honing craft skills. READ MORE