Came across an old diary at a thrift store
A bit of an odd "finder's keepers", but really I thought it was intriguing and had I not taken it the workers at the thrift store were going to throw it in the trash. Wondering if this was donated with a bunch of books from an estate accidentally. Most of it is just logging her days and what everyone was up to, but there are definitely some other interesting portions of it. I'm going to see if I can find one of her relatives so they can get this back if they want it, just doesn't seem like something to throw in the garbage to me.
*edit*
Update 5/9/17
I finally had some extra time and posted this on Facebook. I'm not so sure this will result in finding a relative, but it couldn't hurt trying. This was found in the Orlando, FL area, but the owner of the diary also used to live near Lansing, MI (who knows where else). There is more information in the FB post. If any of you wouldn't mind sharing the post that would be great. Facebook post:
https://www.facebook.com/andrew.derouin.9/posts/1301423443307844
Some pics:
*edit*
Update 5/9/17
I finally had some extra time and posted this on Facebook. I'm not so sure this will result in finding a relative, but it couldn't hurt trying. This was found in the Orlando, FL area, but the owner of the diary also used to live near Lansing, MI (who knows where else). There is more information in the FB post. If any of you wouldn't mind sharing the post that would be great. Facebook post:
https://www.facebook.com/andrew.derouin.9/posts/1301423443307844
Some pics:
Comments
I wish you the best of luck finding any remaining family. Maybe they have been looking for it all along.
In the back of the diary there is a list of names/birthdays and some included what she bought or gave them as gifts (fishing rod, card, salad bowl, $1, etc). Pretty cool, a whopping $1!
Big banking with a $1 then!
Good luck with finding the family. If you can't you might think about donating it to a research library or archive that focuses on American history or the haitory of your state/region. If you go this route hit me up and I can help track down a place.
I don't think they'd be that interested in something that is, from a historical point of view, fairly recent, and remember life in the late 40s has been well documented and is also kept on film, media (newspaper, magazines, etc.) so it's not really a mystery. There are tons and tons of documentation on post-war America.
Unless of course the person who wrote it has done something significant or was some kind of celebrity. Sometimes people became famous after their diary has been made public (a notable example is Anne Frank).