LAFAYETTE — When Heather Ortiz purchased an antique sewing machine from a flea market in Springfield, she had no idea that she’d also stumbled across a series of letters that told of a World War II-era love story rooted in Allen County.
The sewing machine sat untouched in Ortiz’s craft room for two years before her 9-year-old daughter discovered the letters, which were tucked away in one of the machine’s drawers.
“It was almost like it was a hidden compartment,” Ortiz said. “If she hadn’t found it, we probably never would have known they were in there.”
The letters, written between 1940 and 1941, were from a woman named Gladys Hover, of Dayton, and a man named John Warner, of Lafayette.
“They had some sort of romantic encounter and Miss Hover was writing a letter to Mr. Warner to let him know that she had an interest in developing a relationship with him,” Ortiz said. “They must have eventually gotten married because one of the letters had her last name as Warner.”
One of the more interesting letters was a telegraph from Warner, who was serving his country overseas during World War II.
“The telegraph was very hard to read, but it was cool because it came in this old war bond envelope,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz, who is a former Dayton resident now living in Texas, said her hope is to return the letters back to the Warners or their family members.
“I just feel like it’s a piece of history that the family would probably really appreciate if we could track them down,” she said. “I think it’s an old, unique love story, and a piece of history that the family needs to retrieve.”
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