"Finally, after three months of hard work we got it solved. We know who the people are and we can get it taken care of," said Tony Ahern, recipient of the letter.
On November 13, 2008, Ahern showed ABC7 the old letter he'd found- complete with the 1946 postmark. He didn't notice the age, but his wife did.
"I picked it up and I looked at the postmark and I was like ..... 1946! How can that be? You know that's sixty two years," said Sue Ahern.
Two days later, two more letters arrived from the past. All of them were addressed to Mr. and Mrs. H. Reno, the long ago owners of the Ahern home. The cards congratulated the Renos on the birth of their new daughter, Doris. But then to really confuse things the letters had been sent from San Diego just a few days earlier. Our story and a suburban newspaper finally cracked the case.
"I had a call about three days after the paper came out from Caroline Carraro of Westchester and she tells me she knows who the lady was and had been in touch with her," said Tony Ahern.
The Renos left the home in 1975 and moved to San Diego. Apparently the cards were so precious to Mrs. Reno that she saved them in a book. After the Renos passed away, the house was sold and someone else ended up with that book.
"Whoever found them put them in the mail and they arrived here on a three cent stamp," said Tony Ahern.
The cards are now on their way to Doris Winters, who lives near Seattle, Washington. She was the baby girl who prompted the congratulatory cards in 1946.
"Doris is looking forward to getting them back. For seeing them for the first time actually. She's never seen them," said Tony Ahern.
So Tony is headed to the post office- with a bit more than 3-cents in his pocket.