MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — It's a story that started as one sweet story, but we found a second.
Anna Kat Napier owns Honey Bee Antique Market in Murfreesboro. From time to time, she finds things stuck inside vintage books. These are bookmarks, or any remnants from an original or previous owner.
First, there was a note taped to the inside of a book. It was typed, but didn't appear to be from a typewriter. That note read:
Hi Hun,
I do not believe I will know the outcome of this note but in case you should ever thumb through this book and find it, I want you to know, I love you with all my heart and being. This was one of my three books, my favorite that kept me company through many an "adventure." If you have held onto it, maybe you will pass it onto just the right person. Know what I mean? I love you TeDe, and that hasn't, nor will it ever change... David A.
Napier isn't sure who David A might be, but this note has stuck with her.
"You know especially because people don't do that kind of thing anymore and it's just such a special thing when you open up a piece of luggage or a lunch box or a book and you see a note that someone took the time to let them know that they were thinking about you," she said regarding the book.
Then, the story took a turn. Napier pulled out a photo album that was rough around the edges, but the inside might strike a chord.
The inside has content that spans 80 years.
"She spent a lot of time archiving all of these items," Napier said.
Photos, newspaper clippings, birth certificates, marriage certificates, and so much more are still pressed down, protected by a plastic covering.
So who does this belong to? We have more information than the story previously mentioned. There is an address label on the inside — belonging to Mary E. Green in Bowling Green.
"I've not come across too many photo albums or scrapbooks that really depict someone's life from birth to death like this does," Napier said.
Based on contents of the book, it appears Mary was married to Lawrence Green.
How does a book like this end up nearly 100 miles away from Bowling Green to Murfreesboro?
"Well my husband and I were antiquing in Bowling Green and this album was just laying on an ottoman in someone's booth," Napier said. "If the wrong person bought it, they might have picked it apart and divided the pieces to sell individually and we wanted to preserve it as a whole."
Napier has been trying to find the family. Inside the book appears to be Mary and Lawrence's marriage certificate from 1928.
"It just looks like they really celebrated every moment they had together," Napier said.
As of now, in her pursuit of finding the family this belongs to —
"We haven't had any luck yet," she said.
If you happen to know the family this may belong to, please contact Anna Kat Napier by messaging Honey Bee Antique Market on social media, or calling her at 615-624-7239.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
