'My dear Carmel': Lost letters returned to 103-year-old Guelph, Ont. woman

It’s been nearly 80 years since Alfred King wrote a letter from a London, Ont. hospital to a girl in his hometown of Guelph, Ont.

Alfred had just returned from Europe where he had served with the Canadian Army in the Second World War.

His letter was addressed to Carmel Fontinato.

“He just lived down the street from me and we got married [later that year],” Carmel King, now 103-years-old, recalled.

At some point over the next 79 years, Alfred’s letters were lost.

Until last week when, thanks to the help of a young military history enthusiast, the letters found their way back to Carmel.

“Ever since I was a little kid, I was always collecting little antique things, and like my parents always said, I was an old soul in that sense, I always loved history,” explained 18-year-old Brinley Vogt of Goderich, Ont.

He has a growing collection of military uniforms, helmets, medals and letters. More than just collecting, Vogt said he tries to learn about the person associated with the item.

“I love the story behind it,” he explained. “It tells you about the person and it tells you what they went through.”

Earlier this month, Vogt said he bought a package of letters and documents in an online auction featuring items from the Second World War.

The Second World War letters sent to Carmel Fontinato by her future-husband Alfred King. (Jeff Pickel/CTV News)

“We noticed that all of the letters were addressed to the same place in Guelph,” said Vogt, who then tried to track down the family.

“We did some research and the obituaries of Carmel's sisters came up,” he explained. “Through that we were able to basically track down this whole situation.”

Connecting the dots on the other side was Alfred and Carmel’s daughter.

“It was amazing, I feel like it's a hallmark moment,” Judy Riddolls told CTV News, adding that the family was blown away by the gesture. “It really renews your faith in the young people of today, to decide to do something so kind and generous and we thank him so much.”

Vogt said he’s happy a small investment paid off so well

“I think it ended up being like $10.60 for all of it, which is pretty cheap considering how rich the history is.”

Vogt, who is in his last year of high school, said he plan to join the Royal Canadian Navy after graduation.