Papa's Letters

I have always loved history and family storytelling.  As a child, I sat riveted in my chair  as the elders told stories.  I truly enjoyed history and geography classes in elementary school.  So when I learned of my grandfather’s early 20^th century original love letters, I begged my Aunt Annie for them.  Family members, including my mother, had read “Papa’s Letters” and simply enjoyed them.  The letters date back to the fall of 1913. 

Through the years, while moving from one house to another and from one family member’s hands to the next, many letters were lost.

I inherited only fifteen of “Papa’s Letters;” none of my grandmother’s responses survived.  I kept those treasured letters to myself until 2010.  I read them and reread them.  I cried and laughed.  I felt pride and pain.  After reading a letter, I wanted to know more.   I was inspired and intrigued.  I asked family members and friends to fill in the geological and historical blanks.  One day in May of 2010, I mentioned to a friend that I was bored.  Quickly he retorted, “why don’t you do something with your grandfather’s letters.”  I had read a few of the letters to him.  He was amazed by their keen sense of novelistic detail.  The letters are a record of Papa’s courtship of his beloved soul mate Avril.  They are also brilliant observations of Brooklyn, New York by a Jamaica immigrant during the very beginning of the 20^th century.

I narrate this true love story while sharing some of my own story to set the stage for “Papa’s Letters.”  This book has been years in the making.  I lovingly gathered photographs, artifacts, and important documents and records further authenticating this fascinating story.  I traveled to Jamaica, West Indies several times and made contact with numerous family members and friends who have contributed much.  David C. Hurd was a “first class male” and I wanted to take time to write the story and do justice to his legacy.  Enjoy!