A secret room hidden in an attic recently gave up its secrets. But, unlike what you might expect, this wasn’t a scene in a horror movie. It was the story of a love that lasted a lifetime. When Anna Prillman was doing some cleaning in her Virginia home, she stumbled upon a secret room in her attic. “‘I realized there was a door. It is not a door that had a key or anything, it was just latched at the top,” she said.
I am an ’80s baby, so I watched Goonies. As I’m rummaging through the attic, I’m thinking there could be treasure back here, could be a map, there could be gold coins,” Anna said.
While it was a sort of ‘treasure’, it wasn’t the kind worth millions. Instead, it was priceless. An entire treasure trove of love letters, written by Vance Hershel Long to the love of his life, Betty Sue McGhee. Vance wrote in one, “‘Hi honey. How is my baby getting along? When we’re not together I know just the right words that I would use in telling you everything. But when we’re together all I can think of is “I love you.”‘
While the letters were more than 70 years old, Anna said it did seem a bit ‘intrusive’ to read them. But, she did, and soon found herself invested in the couple’s love story. “I think the reason it felt intrusive is that a letter written is between two people and two people only.”
But, the love that bloomed between the two kept Anna hooked. And curious – did the two ever end up together? “It does pose a lot of questions just out of curiosity about their love story. Because it sounds neat,” she said. So Anna set out to find the owners of the letters.
Anna Prillaman and the found love letters in Richmond, Va. Photo by WTVR
“…It was clear [they] needed to be in the right hands and I needed to figure out how I was going to find that.” After posting in local community groups on Facebook, the entire community wanted to know as well – what had happened to this couple? “People love the story. Everywhere I go in town people are stopping me like, ‘Hey you wrote that post about the letters have you found the family yet?”‘ Anna said.
I think a lot of people put on their Sherlock Holmes hats and got to work.”
It worked. Anna located Dalton Long, the grandson of Betty and Vance. Who, as it turns out, did end up together. Dalton lived in Portland, Or., but had grown up in the house, but had never known about the letters hidden away. So as soon as he heard, he and Anna began texting. He was thrilled to hear about the letters, and couldn’t wait to get them.
He said that Betty and Vance had been high school sweethearts. They ended up getting married, having a family until they both passed away after more than 50 years together. Having the letters, Dalton said, would let him “connect on a human level” with his grandparents. “To add words to that time in their life is going to be incredible. I think it is so beautiful to connect on a human level with people that aren’t here with us anymore you know,” he said.
Anna’s home. Photo by WTVR
He was grateful to Anna for what she had done. “(Anna) was able to find something and find the other end of it. And I think not only is it exciting for me but I hope it’s exciting for her to be able to unite me with a little piece of my past,” Dalton said. For Anna it was simple.
“I know that if I found letters from my grandparents on my mother’s or father’s side, I would be sitting there in a pool of tears reading them and cherishing them. I hope that is what this family is able to do,” she said. Watch below for a look at this love that lasted half a century!
Sources: WTVR | Daily Mail
