Woman sets out on quest to reunite love letters found in her attic with couple who wrote them

‘I know I’d cherish these if these were my grandparents corresponding,’ she says

Woman finds hundreds of handwritten love letters in her attic (WTVR)

A woman set out on a quest to identify the original recipients of old love letters after she found boxes of the handwritten notes in her attic.

Anna Prillaman, who lives in Richmond, Virginia, was cleaning out an attic off her closet in the home she has lived in since 2017 one day when she came upon two boxes of yellowed letters.

“Neat find today as I cleaned out a random attic off my closet I’d never sifted through,” she wrote on Facebook in January, alongside a photo of one of the entirely full boxes. “Two boxes of letters from a navy guy to a woman who must have lived here when it was first built, as the address changed to mine halfway through one of the boxes.

“Who knows if they ended up together but it’s darn near 200 letters so I’d hope so for the ole dude’s sake.”

According to Prillaman, who spoke to WTVR about her find, the letters were addressed to a woman named Betty Sue McGhee, and were written in cursive by a man named Vance Broyles. Prillaman also revealed that the letters contained a “love story” between the pair, who originally met at John Marshall High School.

In one letter, Vance writes: “Hi Honey. How is my Baby getting along? When we’re not together I know just the right words that I would use in telling you everything. But when we’re together all I can think of is ‘I love you.’”

On Facebook, Prillaman revealed her desire to find Vance and Betty, or family members of the couple, so that she might pass on the letters, which she noted were written in and around 1955.

“Even if the two writing one another are no longer with us, I’d love to find the family to pass them on,” she wrote. “I know I’d cherish these if these were my grandparents corresponding.”

The post inspired people invested in the story to undertake a social media investigation, with Prillaman eventually receiving a comment from one individual who revealed that they had allegedly made contact with Betty’s grandson.

“I spoke to her grandson. Messaging you,” the comment read, with Prillaman telling the Washington Post that she then received a direct message including contact information for a man named Dalton Long.

Woman finds hundreds of love letters in her attic (WTVR)

After reaching out to Dalton, Prillaman received a response from the 30 year old within the hour, which said: “I would love to have the letters.”

According to The Post, Prillaman eventually learned that Betty and Vance exchanged vows in 1955, and had one son, as well as two grandsons, Dalton and Bodhie Long.

Betty, who was the president of the American Business Women’s Association, according to the outlet, died in 2006. Her life-long love died three years later in July 2009.

However, the family has a long history in Prillaman’s house, as Betty lived in the home with her family before eventually passing it on to her son Randy Long, who then raised his own sons in the house.

While reflecting on the opportunity to view letters sent by his late grandparents, Dalton told The Post that he’s grateful for the chance to “get a better glimpse into them”.

“As I age, I have a newfound appreciation for recognising that my grandparents and the elders in my family have led complete and full lives that I will never fully understand or really know about,” he said. “To be able to get a better glimpse into them, I think that’s really interesting.”

He also said that the family plans to frame the letters, adding that his grandmother would “probably be a little mortified” if she knew that they were reading her old love letters, but that his grandfather “would be tickled”.

While Prillaman was eventually able to hand the letters over to their rightful owners, she told The Post that she did take the opportunity to read through some of the notes after she’d connected with the family.

She said that the thoughtfulness of the letters, as well as Vance’s “beautiful” penmanship and impeccable grammar, has inspired her to write more letters of her own. “I think I’ll definitely put pen to paper more,” she said.

The Independent has contacted Prillaman for comment.