Happy Friday at AnchoredScraps.com! Watching North Carolina Weekend on UNC-TV earlier this evening there was a 4:26 minute story on the “Kindred Spirit Mailbox” on Bird Island near Sunset Beach, NC.
Imagine discovering something like this is in my own state, relatively speaking, something one could make a day trip out of to explore!
Have you been to it yet? Did you know about it already? Apparently as the story will tell you the identity of who was behind its creation of putting the mailbox there was not known and who also provided the blank journals for people to write in and remain as anonymous as they wished for over 35 years.
In looking around for more information I came across this article from CBS News June 23, 2014 “”Kindred Spirit” mailbox collects secrets from around the nation“ by Chip Reid. It talks about the solitary mailbox that Frank Nesmith and his former girlfriend placed there more than 35 years ago. There was a notebook inside, “hoping people would leave messages. But they never dreamed it would be so successful.” At the time of that article Nesmith was 87 years old, and was having helpers replenish the mailbox as he “doesn’t come here as often”.
The article goes on to say: “The journals are now part of a special collection at University of North Carolina Wilmington. Nesmith says most of the messages are about love, family, and hope”.
That YouTube story above said Nesmith no longer makes it down there now with his age and volunteer helpers do that for him. One of the volunteers is Romance and Mystery Author – Jacqueline Degroot. On her blog there is this July 31, 2015 entry about “Kindred Spirit Interview with UNC-TV” and you’ll want to read about “A New Bench for the Kindred Spirit!” from July 28, 2015.
And there is this June 1, 2015 Our State North Carolina magazine article: “Kindred Spirit Mailbox Serves as Symbol of Hope on Bird Island” by Katie Quine. Her article mentions estimates are more than 100,000 people have visited it.
What is most impressive is the difference these two people made with the creation of the Kindred Spirit Mailbox. It reminded me of the difference one person made who was showcased in the April 24th blog post here “One bulb at a time” about the Daffodil Garden in California; it was about the difference Alma Jean Bauer made – who over a 50 year time span hand planted over 50,000 bulbs!
The weekend weather forecast here is rain for the next four days, but regardless, it is a matter of when not if that plans will be made to go explore the Kindred Spirit Mailbox and make an entry of my own! How about you? Is there something like this “in your own backyard” that could be made into a day trip adventure to explore? Here’s to discovering local treasures and Kindred Spirits!
Anchors Aweigh,
Helen
Attribution & Thank you to the following who are referenced today —
Image upper left photograph of the Kindred Spirit mailbox on Bird Island, North Carolina by Zach Rudisin (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
YouTube Published September 25, 2015 “Kindred Spirit Mailbox | NC Weekend | UNC-TV” @ncweekend
June 1, 2015 Our State North Carolina magazine article on it: “Kindred Spirit Mailbox Serves as Symbol of Hope on Bird Island” by Katie Quine @UndeniablyKatie
CBS News June 23, 2014 “”Kindred Spirit” mailbox collects secrets from around the nation“ by Chip Reid
Jacqueline Degroot website July 31, 2015 “Kindred Spirit Interview with UNC-TV” and July 28, 2015 “A New Bench for the Kindred Spirit!”
AnchoredScraps.com April 24, 2015 “One bulb at a time” by Helen Rittersporn
