POSTAL PUZZLER; COUPLE GETS LETTER THAT PREDATES THEM.Byline: Troy Anderson Anderson, river, Canada Anderson, river, c.465 mi (750 km) long, rising in several lakes in N central Northwest Territories, Canada. It meanders north and west before receiving the Carnwath River and flowing north to Liverpool Bay, an arm of the Arctic and Michael Coit Staff Writers When a time-worn envelope with a 3-cent stamp arrived at his door, Robert J. Davis knew he had a mystery on his hands. And then he saw the postmark: ``Winsted, Conn., June 6, 1950.'' ``That was five years before I was even born,'' the 44-year-old roofing contractor said. ``It's kind of weird that I got a letter sent 50 years ago addressed to our name and address.'' The envelope is addressed to ``Mrs. Robert J. Davis, but Davis doesn't know the sender, Harriet Atwood, or anyone in Connecticut. Postal authorities A postal authority organises collection and delivery of domestic mail (US), or post (UK), within its area of control, or in the case of foreign mail, delivery to or receipt of mail from other postal authorities. Payment for the service has been performed in many ways. also were perplexed per·plexed adj. 1. Filled with confusion or bewilderment; puzzled. 2. Full of complications or difficulty; involved. [Middle English, from perplex, confused when they heard about it Wednesday. ``We have a little detective mystery here,'' said Terri Bouffiou, a Postal Service postal service, arrangements made by a government for the transmission of letters, packages, and periodicals, and for related services. Early courier systems for government use were organized in the Persian Empire under Cyrus, in the Roman Empire, and in medieval spokeswoman. After reading the letter, Davis and his wife, Annette, realized its grave importance. In it, Atwood appears to be telling her daughter and son-in-law in Tujunga - ``Doris and Rob'' - that she might die at any time and wants them to visit her in Connecticut. ``It's very cold much of the time,'' Harriet Atwood wrote. ``Every few minutes I have to put my hands under a woolen wool·en also wool·len adj. 1. Made or consisting of wool. 2. Of or relating to the production or marketing of woolen goods. n. Fabric or clothing made from wool. Often used in the plural. blanket. I was in a great deal of pain last night. . . . It's nice to hear from you, and please save up money so you can come and see me this summer as I'm not much good at best and something might take me out anytime.'' She signed it: ``Ma.'' Davis is at a loss as to what to do with the letter. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if the daughter and son-in-law are alive, but they should get this letter,'' Davis said. ``It would be a neat thing if we could get this letter to somebody in her family, but we'll have to fly back to Connecticut personally to deliver it or it'll get lost in the mail for another 50 years.'' A Winsted, Conn., resident named Nancy Atwood, 71, said she thought the Harriet Atwood in the letter might be her grandmother-in-law, also named Harriet Atwood. She thought her grandmother-in-law might have sent the letter to her daughter, who was recently put into a retirement home in Pennsylvania. But when she looked in a drawer A person who orders a bank to withdraw money from an account to pay a designated person a specific sum according to the term of a bill, a check, or a draft. An individual who writes and signs a Commercial Paper, thereby becoming obligated under its terms. with information about that Harriet Atwood, she found that her grandmother-in-law was born March 16, 1853, and died Dec. 4, 1938, 12 years before the letter was written. ``She would have been dead at that point,'' she said. Postal authorities said the delivery of the letter nearly 50 years after it was mailed is both highly unusual and mysterious. Bouffiou said she's heard of letters found after being lost for 20 or 30 years, but never after almost half a century. A variety of scenarios could account for the letter's recent arrival, she said. If a Postal Service worker discovers mail behind a desk or under a floor when a post office is remodeled, it is sent in a plastic envelope with a note of apology apology [Gr.,=defense], literary work that defends, justifies, or clarifies an author's ideas or point of view. Unlike the ordinary use of the word, the literary use neither implies that wrong has been done nor expresses regret. attached. But the Atwood letter arrived without a note. The letter was addressed in 1950 to ``Mrs. Robert J. Davis, P.O. Box 182, Tujunga, Calif.'' Across the top of the envelope is another, more recent postmark: ``Philadelphia, Pa.,'' with a date of April 12, 1999, and a forwarding address forwarding address forward n → adresse f de réexpédition . That new address is the current one of Davis and his wife, 10739 Helendale Ave., Tujunga. ``The 10739 has a question mark after it, and it's not in (the same) handwriting HANDWRITING, evidence. Almost every person's handwriting has something whereby it may be distinguished from the writing of others, and this difference is sometimes intended by the term. 2. ,'' he said. Bouffiou said the U.S. Postal Service's East Coast mail recovery center is located in Philadelphia. Bouffiou speculates someone recently found the letter and dropped it into the mail. Someone at the mail recovery center might have found Robert J. Davis' address in Tujunga on the Internet and mistakenly mis·tak·en v. Past participle of mistake. adj. 1. Wrong or incorrect in opinion, understanding, or perception. 2. Based on error; wrong: a mistaken view of the situation. thought he was the same Robert J. Davis whose wife was sent a letter in 1950. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Robert J. Davis of Tujunga and his wife, Annette, recently received a letter mailed - before either of them was born - to Mrs. Robert J. Davis in Tujunga. John Lazar/Daily News |
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