I found this beautiful little marriage book at a junky shop called Second Time Around Flea Market.  It belonged to a couple named Joseph and Mary Ella who were married on the 22 November 1940. Using a combination of Ancestry.com and FindAGrave.com, I was able to find Joseph’s stepdaughter, Michelle, on Facebook.

“Oh my goodness. That is my precious stepfather who was my mom’s high school sweetheart. They married after Mary died and were married 35 years. Papa Joe was the only dad I ever had. I would love to have that Marriage certificate. Papa Joe was. WWII Veteran and the most wonderful man you will ever know. My mom and Papa Joe were so precious together and mom was never upset when he talked about Mary. The funny thing was that my mom’s name was Mary too. I bet that confused the government.” – Michelle

I mailed it to her on 12 January 2015.