In the photograph file of Sister Perpetua Tape, OSB, I discovered something that was not a photograph at all.
Rather, it was a postcard written and sent by Sister Perpetua in 1908. What a find!
The postcard is addressed in this way:
Mrs. Annie Lee
c/o Mr. P. Machtolff
Sheffield Ala
No house or street address. No zip code. Only a 1 cent stamp with the image of Benjamin Franklin postmarked from Cullman on Aug 21 1908 at 4:40 pm. I assume that there was only one Mr. P. Machtolff who lived in Sheffield in 1908. Isn’t it amazing how much things have changed in 118 years!
To Mrs. Annie Lee Sister Perpetua wrote the following:
Dear Friend:- Received your letter with money order. Many thanks for your kindness in sending it. Put a few of your flowers in our yard and you can watch them grow and whenever you pass by, you can image you see me. It is too bad you did not make more on the ice cream supper. Live in hopes for better times. Kindest regards to all. Sr. M. Perpetua, O.S.B.
I did not correct the handwritten “typos” because I think that is part of the charm of a note written with old-fashioned pen and ink—no spell check, no eraser, no white-out.
Sister Perpetua’s encouraging message, “Live in hopes for better times,” is a message that somehow reaches through time. Our own “ice-cream suppers” may not go as we had planned or as we had desired. The current moment might seem overwhelming or our latest project a total failure. Sister “Petchie,” as she was affectionately known within the community, reminds us to cling to hope rather than to despair.
A final thought—we never know just how long-lasting our loving words of encouragement can last. I can imagine that Mrs. Annie Lee was deeply touched by Sister Perpetua’s kind words, at least touched enough to keep the postcard among her personal items. The family must have returned this note to the community many years later or even to Sister Perpetua herself. As we hear in Scripture: true love never dies.
By Sister Therese Haydel, OSB