72-Year-Old Letter Finally Delivered in the U.S., Solving a Mail Mystery

OTTAWA, Illinois — A piece of mail lost for more than seven decades has finally surfaced, bringing closure to a family that never expected to see it again.

Postal worker Mark Tompson, stationed at the Ottawa city post office, recently discovered a 1953 postcard featuring the United Nations building in New York. What started as an ordinary day on the job turned into the unraveling of a 72-year-old mystery.

The Letter’s Long Journey

Tompson, intrigued by the aged postcard, contacted local genealogists to trace its origins. Their research led them to Alan Ball, an 88-year-old resident of Sandpoint, Idaho.

Ball was stunned when he learned the postcard had finally resurfaced. He explained that he had written the letter to his parents, Frederick and Elizabeth Ball, during a brief stop in New York in 1953. Somehow, the letter never reached them.

A Surprise Reunion With the Past

Decades later, the postcard revealed itself. Investigators believe it may have been stuck in the wrong mailbox for years before finally making its way back into circulation.

When Ball held the postcard again, he described the moment as surreal — as if time had folded in on itself. “It’s a memory I thought was gone forever,” he told postal workers who reunited him with the message.

Postal Oddities and Rare Finds

While unusual, stories of delayed mail aren’t entirely new. The U.S. Postal Service occasionally uncovers letters and postcards from decades ago, often trapped in mailboxes, post office walls, or forgotten collections. But a 72-year delay is extraordinary even by those standards.

The discovery of the Ball family postcard offers a rare glimpse into how even a small piece of paper can reconnect generations. It is both a reminder of the enduring role of handwritten letters and a testament to the human stories they carry.

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