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INTRODUCTION
At the end of February 2004, my daughter Stephanie and I were in New York for a very sad occasion, the death of my wonderful Aunt
Annette. We stayed in the apartment she shared with her mother and father since 1946 It was a very bittersweet time.
Being in the place we all knew as home, but she wasn't there.
In the process of helping to sort things, we came across a box full of letters. I discovered they were letters from my Grandpa Van to my
Grandma Van when they were "courting" As you might expect, we were fascinated and began to read them in the order they occurred.
We watched the relationship move from friend to more up to the day before the wedding. Did we cry or what?! I learned that my
grandfather was a very romantic and funny man. I learned so much about him that I never had the opportunity to know since we saw him rarely,
(we lived in California.)
One thing that took us a bit to figure out was, why did he always leave a corner near the signature open. As we learned, he kept this spot
opened for his kiss to her. Talk about crying!!!
I am so glad that these are available for the family to read. They are a very special legacy to our family (we wouldn't be here if things
had turned out different!)
Laurie Vander Putten Loken
Fort Worth, Texas
April 14, 2004
P.S. on June 29,
1910, six months after the last letter here.
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