More than 25 years ago, Michael Archer was renovating his former London, Ont., home when he found something unexpected.
“We had just taken out the last closet that hadn’t been renovated yet with the old lab and plaster and ripping it apart,” said Michael Archer.
“When the dust settled, I looked down and there was a yellow letter laying in the rubble.”
The letter, dated back to Aug. 13, 1929, was written by a man named Charles Slater.
“He worked on the lake freighters and was stuck up in Port Arthur or Fort William, which is now Thunder Bay,” said Archer. “He was writing to his father saying, ‘I don’t know when we’re coming home because there’s no grain coming out of the west.’”
Unable to track down any surviving relatives of the Slater family at the time, Archer and his wife Christina decided to hold on to the heirloom for safekeeping.
“I had this letter stored and protected away for 25 years,” said Christina Archer.
Last week, the Archers decided to continue their search.
“I guess it just occurred to me to try the media to see if I could find any descendants,” said Christina.
Marisa Cooper, a local genealogist, was scrolling on Facebook when she saw Christina’s post.
“I knew I could help,” said Cooper.
She said she began conducting extensive research and she was able to get a hold of the Power family.
“Charles Slater had three full siblings, four step siblings,” said Cooper. “He had one half sibling, a woman named Audrey Slater who married into the Power family.”
‘The long-lost uncle we’ve always wanted’
That’s when Aaron Powers, Charles’ great nephew, received a call.
“I am married to Aaron Powers,” said Laurie Powers. “It’s his grandmother’s brother who wrote the letter.”
The Archers said they were relieved to finally return the letter to its rightful owners.
“We were really surprised,” said Powers. “He was like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s the long-lost uncle we’ve always wanted.’”
The Archers and the Powers met to exchange the letter.
“She’s absolutely lovely,” said Powers. “She painted us a beautiful picture that’s got documentation from all the different parts of the story.”
Charles’ family said they are looking forward to learning more about their uncle and the life he lived almost a century ago.
“It includes a book he recommended to his father called ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ by a German,” said Powers. “He married and never had any children, but he did quite well for himself.”
Charles Slater passed away in 1984.
