April 15, 2021
Messy and earnest
Whew. I had lots of unexpected feelings as I cleaned out my office storeroom today. I was not prepared for the rush of emotions I’d feel at seeing early drafts of Marcel’s Letters.
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April 7, 2021
Page headers from the extraordinary 1859 math workbook of William D. Linebaugh
Most of the old letters I buy are cheap. As in, my self-imposed budget is $5–$15. Heck, Marcel’s original letters were only $6 and change. I’ve only broken that rule a few times, such as when I acquired this WWII postcard—and I purchased it only because the postcard had been mailed from the Berlin-Marienfelde labor camp at the same time Marcel was there.READ MORE
November 30, 2020
An Evening with Princess Diana: October 16, 1988
When I was a sophomore in college, I attended Middlesex Polytechnic for one semester. Middlesex Poly was a public university in northern London (now called Middlesex University). Studying abroad was an adventure as much as it was an educational opportunity, and as it turned out class lessons were second to life lessons I learned that fall. Quite unexpectedly, one of those life lessons I learned from Princess Diana herself.
October 29, 2020
Up Here… A 10th Mountain Soldier’s Letters Home 1943–1945
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Earlier this year I received an email from a man named David Hoople, who was writing from his home in Maine. After reading Marcel’s Letters he was so struck by similarities in our stories that he felt compelled to reach out. “The parallels to my project were inspiring,” he wrote. David went on to explain he had been transcribing the letters his father, Ted, mailed home while serving in the 10th Mountain Division during WWII. Similar to my search for information on Marcel, David’s journey to understand his father’s experience involved carefully piecing together information from handwritten letters, a trip abroad, and a remarkable encounter at the top of Mt. Croce—one of those goosebump-inducing moments that just might make you believe in divine meddling.READ MORE
October 3, 2020
Sad News from France
DENISE (HEUZÉ) WIBART
August 10, 1934 – September 26, 2020
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One thing I have heard over and over from readers of Marcel’s Letters is that Marcel’s family began to feel like their family. That is why I feel compelled to share the news that Marcel and Renée’s beloved middle daughter, Denise, passed away on Saturday, September 26. Denise was 86 years old. Denise is survived by her children Philippe and Valentine, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
August 12, 2020
August 12, 1945: “Just received word the war is over.”
C. H. Brandt
Chambersburg
RR6 (Pennsylvania)
August 12, 1945
Dear Family,
Hello folks & how are all of you this fine Sunday. Just fine I hope as that is the way I feel.
June 2, 2020
June 2, 1944: “I must be strong and have patience and hope that the beautiful days will arrive soon”
Mr. and Mrs. Albert Roumieu
Bar sur Loup, close to Grasse, Maritime Alps, France
Ludwigshofen, June 2, 1944
My very dear parents,
I’m sending you these few words to share some of my news. First of all, I can tell you that we are all in good health and I hope that this letters will find you the same, my dear parents, as well as the Fécaud and Giordamanga families. READ MORE
May 20, 2020
19 Months in Quarantine: Louise Dillery’s Tuberculosis Story
Photos from Louise Dillery’s private collection.
“I’m bored.” Louise spells out the word for emphasis as she laughs: “B–O–R–E–D.” The remark does not come across as a complaint, just a statement of fact.
Louise Dillery is 94 years old. She understands why she can’t have in-person visitors or go out and get her hair done. She doesn’t feel compelled to break the rules. She knows the stakes of COVID-19 and what it will take to get through this. This is, after all, not the first time she’s been forced to stay inside: nearly seven decades ago, Louise spent 19 months quarantined inside St. Paul’s Ancker Hospital.READ MORE
May 6, 2020
May 6, 1944: “…I fear that when things go well here, they don’t go well where you are, and vice versa.”
Saturday, May 6, 1944
Dear little Alice,
I received your two letters of April 5 and 12. I’m confirming it to you, in case you didn’t receive my letter from Buching [?]. READ MORE
February 12, 2020
February 12, 1860: “She told me, calmly, was the work of death…”
Jacksonville E.F. Sunday
Feb. 12, [18]60
My dear Madame,
It is with painful emotion that I write […] to communicate the intelligence of the death of Mrs. Hemming which took place only today at 4 p.m. which although sudden at its close was an event long anticipated.
January 21, 2020
January 21, 1944: “…we talked a bit about our country back home. That made him happy…”
Mr. and Mrs. Albert Roumieu
Bar sur Loup, close to Grasse, Maritime Alps, France
Ludwigshofen, January 21, 1944
My very dear parents,
I have just received several letters dated December 20, 23, 25 and January 1 that pleased me very much, for they brought me your good news and I can see that your health is good, and I can tell you that it’s the same for all of us.READ MORE
January 1, 2020
Everything Old is New Again
Have you seen the ten-year photo challenge that’s making the rounds on social media? It’s where you place a photo of yourself from a decade ago next to a recent photo of yourself to see how much—or little—you’ve changed. The side-by-side photos that have filled my social media feed combined with the oh-so-many articles encouraging people to reflect on the last decade got me thinking.READ MORE