My friend Phyllis loves to shop at thrift stores and has found many great bargains. About a year ago, she was at her favorite shop looking through the books when she came across a Bible. Picking it up, she saw that it was full of clippings, notes, obituary notices and articles tucked within the pages. Putting it back on the shelf, she moved on but was drawn back again to the Bible. For some reason she felt that she could not leave it there and bought it. When she got home she laid it aside and eventually forgot all about it.
About a year later she was sorting through some boxes and came across the Bible once again. This time she called me and asked if I would like it. As I looked through the Bible I saw who it had belonged to and then began reading all of the articles and items left in the Bible by someone. There was a page with names and dates and places of birth, newspaper clippings and even a birth certificate. The name that stood out was a Quinto Spelta from Italy.
Out of curiosity, I decided to go on the Internet and see if I could find out anything about him. After finding a couple of census records and a World War I registration, I decided to find out if anyone had conducted research on him. In a Google search, I found only two people researching Quinto Spelta.
I e-mailed both of them and waited. I never did hear from one person, but got a response from the other, a man from California who said he did have a Spelta in his family on his mother's side. I told him what I had and asked if he was interested. He replied that he was very interested.
I sent him the Bible and all its contents. He said he was going to take the Bible to Arizona where his mother still lived. The man's mother was not well and was excited to see more of their family history.
I was glad that Phyllis and I were able to facilitate the reunion. Once again the Bible was in the right hands. — Lucretia Olsen, Anchorage Alaska