The year: 1947.
The young man: a World War II veteran just home from Japan.
The journey: on the way to Asheville to visit his mother, who lived right down the street from the famous author of “Look Homeward Angel.”
On this ride from Duplin County in eastern North Carolina, the young man and his brother rattled and shook over the roads of U.S. 74 westward bound. Once on the curvy roads of Rutherford County near Chimney Rock, they pulled over for a view of the Rocky Broad River and the old monolith. As the brothers stretched their legs going from shop to shop in the little village, the young man picked up a Chimney Rock post card, jotted down a few words and mailed it in the Chimney Rock post office.
The card: being sent to his new fiancé back in Onslow County. The couple was just a few months from being married.
The card read: “Hello General, I am at Chimney Rock. I like it fine. Hope you are ok. Love, Leland”
Not many words but just enough to thrill the upcoming bride.
Ahead to 2011: The bride of 1947 was going through old love letters from her military man and found the post card. This bride and groom, you see, are my parents. Dad had died and reading the words of so long ago made Mom smile and rekindled memories of a simpler time. She placed it aside and upon a visit from me, she asked me if I wanted the card. I was building a family cabin in Chimney Rock. Not knowing about the card, I was delighted to read it and was eager to reclaim it for its return trip to Chimney Rock.
I framed the card for my mom. It adorns her room at the cabin. With its 1½-cent stamp and historical significance for my family, I felt it was only the right thing to do to return it to its origin.
Visiting friends read the card and are astounded by its journey. It’s among my favorite things in the cabin, along with a book shelf Dad built while in high school, old doors from his homeplace as headboards and many pictures of family trips through the years.
It took over 60 years to find its way back, but the post card is home in Chimney Rock once again.
The year 2019: I smile at the journey, and hope you will too.
Gloria Edwards is a retired educator and public relations director for Sampson County, North Carolina, Schools.
The story above appears in our July/August 2019 issue.
