A Texas bargain hunter stumbled upon something entirely unexpected hidden among the pages of a secondhand book purchased at a yard sale.
When Jason (who did not want to share his last name) first opened the Better Homes and Garden Sewing Book he purchased at the sale in East Texas, he never expected to see a piece of paper drop out onto the floor.
Things got even stranger when he picked it up and realized he was holding an anonymously written letter, evidently penned by one member of a church to another, who was named Debbie.
“Dear Debbie,” the note began, typed out in block capitals. “I was ashamed for you and the ones who love you because of the way you misbehaved in church. Let us pray this will not happen again. People watch you and other young people pattern after you. You must be the right kind of example for Christ and also those who watch you.”
The note was signed “Love” followed by “A friend.”
U/potsofjam
Jason said the note was postmarked 1968. “I thought it was interesting and an example of how times are different but much is still the same,” he told Newsweek.
Putting himself in the shoes of the letter’s recipient, he said. “I’ve bever been a fan of church in the first place. I’d be annoyed that someone else took the time to be nasty to me.”
Keen to share his discovery, Jason posted a picture of the note to Reddit under the handle u/potsofjam.
“I just thought it was interesting. I think people relate, that feeling that someone is being judgmental but won’t say it. That it doesn’t really matter what it is, some people just have to complain about others instead of focusing on themselves,” he said. “I also thought it was funny that it’s in all caps like someone banging out an angry tweet.”
What Jason may have stumbled on is an example of a poison pen letter.
In a piece for the website Literary Hub, British historian Emily Cockayne said anonymous letters became a prominent concern in the early 20th century, with the term first coined in America. It was first used in a 1911 article in the Maryland Evening Post.
“Poisoning was the form of murder most connected to women, and these letters were regarded as a form of social poisoning more often than not perpetrated by women,” Cockayne wrote.
“Designed to cause trouble, the letters were, in some ways, a continuation of neighborly over-the-fence gossip, defamation, and rancor. Some were libelous, some were obscene, some were threatening, some were all three. Others were very banal.”
The vicious, accusatory nature of the note Jason found suggests it was a poison pen letter. Whether the note was sent to Debbie or another member of the family is a matter of speculation. It’s also possible the note was penned by a man rather than a woman.
What was interesting to Jason was that some of the criticism in the note felt strangely modern and relevant to some people’s application of Christianity today. To him, it also read like an angry tweet.
Jason doesn’t really have “any plans” for the note but it has sparked plenty in the way of discussion on Reddit. One user noted that the letter was sent to someone in Woodsville.
“Woodville has a population of 2400. I’m guessing everyone knows everyone there. The postmaster would know not only who Debbie is but also who sent it,” the user said. “And after gossiping about it with townspeople, they’d all be like, ‘Yep, we remember what she did in church.'”
Another user said: “This could be a letter from the people who attempted to raise me. Ah, precious memories.” A third wrote: “You know, depending on the church, this could just mean Debbie spoke in church.”
One user theorized: ” Would bet good money Debbie was between the ages of 6 and 12 in 1968 and was probably just doing standard disruptive children in church things: talking too loud, playing with friends, arguing with siblings or whatever during service. It was probably sent by her parents, a relative or Sunday school teacher in an attempt to embarrass her for whatever she was doing and get her to behave in church.”
Ultimately, unless Debbie comes forward somehow, there may never be an answer.
