Story Archive

Forwarding Order Expired

Chuck Ebel of Missoula, Mont., was surprised to get a postcard at his home addressed to his long-dead grandfather. It was mailed by his grandmother, Ethel, from Heidelberg, Germany, a chatty update from her three-week trip there — in 1972. Ebel bought the house from his grandmother before she died in 2011. The U.S. Postal Service says it wasn’t stuck in their system for all that time, but sometimes “old letters and postcards — sometimes purchased at flea markets, antique shops and even online — are re-entered into our system,” a spokesman said. “The end result is what we do best: as long as there is a deliverable address and postage, the card or letter gets delivered.” Whatever, Ebel says, “It was really cool. It was kind of like getting a message from my grandmother.” (RC/Helena Independent Record) ...Perhaps because, um, it was a message from his grandmother.