The faded black and white photographs and handwritten letters in looping script speak of a different time.
It was when people in the cities wore hats and dressed up in their best coats to go shopping and when life in the country was defined by hard manual labour and the need to make hay before the winter weather closed in.
The photos and the letters tell the stories of someone’s family history. But at this point the North Vancouver RCMP say they don’t know who that is and they’re looking for the public’s help.
The box of memorabilia dating back 100 years was recently turned in to the detachment after someone found it tossed aside near the North Vancouver City Library. The photos and letters were contained in an old Turtles chocolate box.
Cpl. Richard De Jong, spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP, said it’s possible the box was taken during a break-in at a home then later tossed aside.
De Jong said police would like to return the box to its owner. “It probably has historical and sentimental value.”
But there aren’t many clues about who that may be.
One – an obituary notice for Ronald Graham McEachern who died at Lions Gate Hospital in July 2000 – has so far not led police to family members, said De Jong.
Meanwhile, the contents of the box offer a snapshot of another era. One handwritten letter from 1916 was penned on stationery from the Peace Motel in northern B.C., where rooms apparently cost “$2.50 and up” and came complete with “electric lighting.”
Most of the photos appear to be of family members – a grandmother celebrating her 94th birthday in 1938 stands in a long black dress with a lace collar. In several photos, a young man poses in his Second World War era army uniform.
Anyone who can identify themselves as a family member connected to the box of memorabilia can contact the North Vancouver RCMP at 604-985-1311 to arrange for its return.
