Two weeks into the empty nest phase after her son moved out, Stefanie Paige started clearing out shelves when she came across a small box nearly forgotten on a shelf.
UPDATE: Online sleuths unravel Victoria mystery filled with cherished memories
The Victoria woman remembered it immediately, just a small box with some filling and an old folded note sitting on top. It struck her unusual enough to shelve it in November 2023 after finding it in an old china cabinet – a big, heavy, brown piece with broken glass she got for free from an estate sale.
“As I was taking out all the drawers I found this little black box. In it was this little folded note,” Paige said.
She put it on a shelf and went about refinishing the cabinet.
“Then I just kind of left it like that,” she said.
She was just about to throw it out when she realized, she’d held on to it more than a year, and the person before her, more than five decades.
“I thought ‘I can’t do this.’ I’m meant to find a home for it,” she said.
The hand-written letter is dated May 1968 and is addressed to Mrs. Melnick with a return address in Princeton, B.C.
“Thank you for billeting me in your home while in Victoria with the band. I appreciated it very much. Hope to see you again someday,” it reads.
The script leaves the signature open to some interpretation but appears to be from Terry Lindsay.
A member of several community pages on social media, she figured she’d post there to kick off her “shot in the dark” search for the right person.
“It’s crazy how many people are trying to help me find a home for this note that’s a piece of history. It’s a whirlwind,” she said.
Her best tip at the moment on this thank you note that has spanned generations, is the online obituary of Lila Melnick who died in 2023. Social media sleuths have put her on to a related family member who may be able to help.
Anyone with insight on where the note may originate, or who the original writer might be, can contact her by email at info@stefaniepaige.ca.
