Inside Duke Medicine
Letter from the past
posted March 29th, 2010
A 76-year-old valentine card makes its belated way to Duke
By Leanora Minai
Addressed in cursive to Miss Margaret Davey, the envelope arrived at Duke by U.S. mail affixed with a 1- and 2-cent stamp.
The postmark: Feb. 12, 1934.
“There’s no telling where it was for these past 76 years,” said Mike Trogdon, director of Duke Postal Operations.
With no return address, and no one in the Duke directory by the name Margaret Davey, Trogdon slit open the envelope and pulled out a card decorated with a giraffe and hearts. “To My Valentine,” it read. “In the race for my affection, you win by a long neck – so be my valentine!!”
It was signed, “Joyce.”
Since the envelope was addressed “c/o Duke Hospital, Duke University,” maybe, just maybe, Margaret Davey was a student in 1934. On a hunch, Trogdon called Duke’s Alumni and Development Records.