https://sputnikglobe.com/20220128/hidden-letters-delivered-after-hiding-for-50-years-1092567778.html

Hidden Letters Delivered After Hiding For 50 Years

Hidden Letters Delivered After Hiding For 50 Years

Sputnik International

Genovefa Klonovska got a chance to step back in time when she was given a letter meant for her 50 years ago, when she was just a 12 year-old girl. 28.01.2022, Sputnik International

2022-01-28T01:50+0000

2022-01-28T01:50+0000

2023-04-12T17:14+0000

society

european union (eu)

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/107961/04/1079610463_0:181:1920:1261_1920x0_80_0_0_9a2468698a1ad23a78e1aaca2e286b06.jpg

“I thought someone was pranking me,” she said. The envelope contained her letter, a handmade rose, and two paper dolls. Klonovska, who lives in Lithuania, was sent the letter by a penpal who lived in Poland.The letter was from 1970 and her penpal, named Ewa, wrote that the buses were not running in her village, she lamented the cold and detailed it was almost a negative 10 degrees (fahrenheit) outside, and asked for pictures of actors.But Klonovska has no memory of Ewa, and estimates the lost letter was the first of their correspondence.The letter had almost been thrown out, too. Workers found Klonovska's letter, along with 17 others, when they demolished a wall in a former post office located outside the capital of Lithuania, in Vilnius. The letters were discovered when they fell out of a ventilation hole.“The workers suggested we throw the old letters away, but I called the post office instead,” said Jurgis Vilutis, who is the owner of the building which was formerly a post office.Since the street names and numbering had changed in Vilnius, post office workers had spent months tracking down the recipients of the lost mail. Five recipients were found, while many were deceased.“We felt a moral duty to do this,” said Deimante Zebrauskaite of Lithuania Post. Zebrauskaite said many of the tracked-down recipients were emotional, and those who were given a letter meant for their deceased parent felt like they were getting a chance to see a part of their parent’s everyday life."So good that the letter was inconsequential. The loss was not life-changing," said Klonovska. "What if they delivered a lost letter from a suitor to his love, and their wedding never happened?"

2022

News

en_EN

society, european union (eu)