HALIFAX -- From old bottle caps to other odd trinkets, Arnie Lloyd’s garage is full of collectables including a 1948 Ford F1.
The Elmsdale, N.S. resident bought the vehicle three years ago along with other miscellaneous items that the previous owner was selling.
In one of the boxes he purchased was an old chocolate box that contained dozens of letters including a handwritten note dating back to the Second World War.
The letter, dated November 4, 1944, was written by Arnold Weisner, a Canadian solider who served in Holland during the Second World War.
"You can kind of get a feel for what's going on just through his letter,” Lloyd said. “As he puts it, they were in miserable conditions."
The letter was addressed to Clark Armstrong of Beechville, N.S. whose personal items were also found which included love letters, pay stubs and a license from the 1900s.
A time capsule of history, Lloyd now hopes to return the letter to the Wiesner’s family.
"If a grandson or granddaughter gets to read that letter, they get a piece of history that maybe their father or grandfather didn't get a chance to talk about,” Lloyd said.
Ken Hynes, the curator for the Army Museum Halifax Citadel says it can be difficult to access service records for soldiers who served during the Second World War.
“Library and Archives Canada haven’t released them to the public from the Second World War because there are veterans who are still alive,” Hynes said.
However, family members are able to access those records.
Lloyd hopes to be able to reunite the letter with those who will cherish it most.
"I'm hoping that they will actually get it,” Lloyd said. “They’ll get to read the story that their relative has written while they were in the war."
A letter from the past, and hopefully an answer to the mystery in the near future.
