The long lost letter that reunited a father and a daughter

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.- History can keep a family together. Right in Bowling Green, KY, the beginning of what could be described as a great novel, it could even be called a love letter that found its way into a daughter’s hands after years of being hidden.

It was a typical harvest-fest weekend for many people in Bowling Green, for the bookstore located in the historic Capitol Theatre, things were a little different. Thanks to a good deed of a bookstore shopper, a little piece of history was about to be revealed. Two unsuspected letters were found inside a purchased book and returned to the store.

Leslie Hutchinson, a volunteer at the bookstore shared what this discovery means to her. She says, “I feel honored. I’m mostly happy that I was able to get the postcards back to his daughter. It was just really sweet that he had taken the time to write a note to both his parents and then that they saved him in a book. All this time.”

All the books on the shelves inside the Capitol books are donated, so finding receipts and bookmarks are common, but Hutchinson knew immediately that this find was special. It was not only special for the store but also special for the owners of the letters.

After tons and tons of research, Leslie discovered that the letters were written by a former state senator Floyd Ellis. Ellis passed away, but Leslie learned that his daughter, Anna Sue Heller is still alive. We sat down with Ms. Heller and she expressed how it felt to learn about the letters.

She says, “It’s kind of it’s so bittersweet because he’s gone. And I remember him. He was so much fun. He was so much fun, and I just am so thankful that somebody took the time to give these back to Earth, and my family will really enjoy reading them and seeing them, especially my grandchildren because it’s hard to think of older people as being children.”

On the steps of the bookstore, after 13 years, a father and daughter were reunited through a long-lost letter. This could be described as a gift that revives a memory and a timeless treasure to share.

Heller also says, “I’m so pleased to be reunited with them, and we will put these with we have a lot of letters and a lot of papers, but these are special because he was so young.”

If you are the person who returned the letter, the Capitol Theatre bookstore greatly appreciates you and would love to get to know who you are.