Northern Ont. family finds wartime love letters that had been missing for weeks
A Sudbury-area family is relieved after a missing box of love letters sent during the Second World War was found.
The Racicot family had been searching for roughly three weeks for the box of precious mementos that contained love letters sent between Stella and Frank Racicot.
Photo of Stella and Frank Racicot. Dec. 14/21 (Molly Frommer/CTV Northern Ontario)
Earlier this week, the family received a call saying the letters had been found.
In mid-December, a relative, Wayne Price, made a trip to Thunder Bay to collect three boxes of old photos and the love letters from a family member.
Once he returned to the Sudbury area, Price was packing up his vehicle and mistakenly left the box of letters on the back of his truck and drove off.
Luckily for the family, the letters were found by Steven Sullivan, who was driving on the same road where the box of letters had gone missing.
"It was a clean box and that’s what caught my eye. So, I picked it up and I thought, wow this is interesting," Sullivan said
A Sudbury-area family is relieved after a missing box of love letters sent during the Second World War was found. (Molly Frommer/CTV News)
"So, I put it in my truck, and later that day, I took the box out of my truck and I explored the box more. And that’s when I saw, like, 50 letters and the stamp was four cents so I knew it was pretty old."
Stella and Frank’s son, Richard Racicot, said he can’t express how happy he is to have the letters back in his possession.
"It’s a link in the chain that put the chain back together and I’m so happy," Racicot said.
"These letters showed me a side of my father that I did not know existed. He raised me to be the man that I am and he was so in love with my mother, and I had no idea just how much they loved each other until I got these letters back."
The Racicot family said they are looking forward to reading all the letters and are thrilled they were returned in the same condition they were last seen.
"Everything was in pristine condition. There was no water damage, there was no damage whatsoever. Everything was in exactly the same condition," said Jennifer Racicot-Rybachuk, the couple’s granddaughter.
"For me, it’s relief and I’m at peace now. I’m happy. It warms my heart knowing that true love does exist ... I’ve never seen a love like that before."
It turns out that Sullivan is a distant relative of the Racicot’s.
"The fella who found the letters, I did not know existed but when he contacted us and I got to know him I find out that we’re related," said Richard Racicot.
"His grandma and my mom were sisters … We’re going to keep in touch a little more this summer. I’m going to have him and his parents out for a BBQ."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Bouchard lifts Edmonton Oilers to 4-3 overtime win over Canucks in Game 2
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.