Retired Brit Receives Postcard Sent 66 Years ago

Three mailboxes are seen along the highway US-1 in the Lower Keys near Key Largo in Florida, July 10, 2014. (Photo by Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)
Three mailboxes are seen along the highway US-1 in the Lower Keys near Key Largo in Florida, July 10, 2014. (Photo by Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)
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Retired Brit Receives Postcard Sent 66 Years ago

Three mailboxes are seen along the highway US-1 in the Lower Keys near Key Largo in Florida, July 10, 2014. (Photo by Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)
Three mailboxes are seen along the highway US-1 in the Lower Keys near Key Largo in Florida, July 10, 2014. (Photo by Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)

A retired salesman has declared himself elated after a long-lost postcard from 1955 was unexpectedly delivered to him. Chris Harmon, 75, was sent the letter by an American pen pal when he was a young boy living in East Sussex – but it took 66 years to finally reach him, according to The Metro. The correspondence was recently discovered at a charity shop in Dorchester, after being handed in as part of Weldmar Hospicecare's stamp collection fundraising appeal.

A diligent volunteer saw the postcard was addressed to Chris Harmon and searched for him on Facebook.

He messaged Harmon, from Pershore, on the off-chance the document was meant for him and the pair was delighted to realize it was.

The letter – featuring a Grand Central Station marking and vintage airmail stamp – reveals American Fred Kendall had more luck receiving a pair of Dutch clogs from his boyhood friend. Harmon, who spent his childhood in Peacehaven, was thrilled to at last receive the October 13 reply from Kendall, who signs off as "Uncle Fred" despite not being related and promises a 10th birthday present.

The pair remained pen pals across the Atlantic until the 1970s, when they lost contact. Harmon had tried unsuccessfully to track down New Jersey's Kendall – who was a publisher from Short Hills – on a visit to the US in 2007, but has since discovered that his friend had died a number of years ago.



The Next Round of Bitter Cold and Snow will Hit the Southern US

A person holds an umbrella as they walk during a winter storm, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
A person holds an umbrella as they walk during a winter storm, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
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The Next Round of Bitter Cold and Snow will Hit the Southern US

A person holds an umbrella as they walk during a winter storm, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
A person holds an umbrella as they walk during a winter storm, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

The next round of bitter cold was set to envelop the southern U.S. on Tuesday, after the first significant winter storm of the year blasted a huge swath of the country with ice, snow and wind.

The immense storm system brought disruption even to areas of the country that usually escape winter’s wrath, downing trees in some Southern states, threatening a freeze in Florida and causing people in Dallas to dig deep into their wardrobes for hats and gloves.

By early Tuesday, wind chill temperatures could dip into the teens to low 20s (as low as minus 10.5 C) from Texas across the Gulf Coast, according to the National Weather Service. A low-pressure system is then expected to form as soon as Wednesday near south Texas, bringing the potential of snow to parts of the state that include Dallas, as well as to Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

The polar vortex that dipped south over the weekend kept much of the country east of the Rockies in its frigid grip Monday, making many roads treacherous, forcing school closures, and causing widespread power outages and flight cancellations.

Ice and snow blanketed major roads in Kansas, western Nebraska and parts of Indiana, where the National Guard was activated to help stranded motorists. The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for Kansas and Missouri, where blizzard conditions brought wind gusts of up to 45 mph (72 kph). The warnings extended to New Jersey into early Tuesday.

A Kentucky truck stop was jammed with big rigs forced off an icy and snow-covered Interstate 75 on Monday just outside Cincinnati. A long haul driver from Los Angeles carrying a load of rugs to Georgia, Michael Taylor said he saw numerous cars and trucks stuck in ditches and was dealing with icy windshield wipers before he pulled off the interstate.

“It was too dangerous. I didn’t want to kill myself or anyone else,” he said.

The polar vortex of ultra-cold air usually spins around the North Pole, but it sometimes plunges south into the U.S., Europe and Asia. Studies show that a fast-warming Arctic is partly to blame for the increasing frequency of the polar vortex extending its grip.

Temperatures plunge across the country The eastern two-thirds of the U.S. dealt with bone-chilling cold and wind chills Monday, with temperatures in some areas far below normal.

A cold weather advisory will take effect early Tuesday across the Gulf Coast. In Texas’ capital of Austin and surrounding cities, wind chills could drop as low as 15 degrees (minus 9.4 C).

The Northeast was expected to get several cold days.

Transportation has been tricky Hundreds of car accidents were reported in Virginia, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky, where a state trooper was treated for non-life-threatening injuries after his patrol car was hit.

Virginia State Police responded to at least 430 crashes Sunday and Monday, including one that was fatal. Police said other weather-related fatal accidents occurred Sunday near Charleston, West Virginia, and Monday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Kansas saw two deadly crashes over the weekend, The AP reported.

More than 2,300 flights were canceled and at least 9,100 more were delayed nationwide as of Monday night, according to tracking platform FlightAware. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport reported that about 58% of arrivals and 70% of departures had been canceled.

A record 8 inches (more than 20 centimeters) of snow fell Sunday at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, leading to dozens of flight cancellations that lingered into Monday. About 4 inches (about 10 centimeters) fell Monday across the Cincinnati area, where car and truck crashes shut at least two major routes leading into downtown.

More snow and ice are expected In Indiana, snow covered stretches of Interstate 64, Interstate 69 and U.S. Route 41, leading authorities to plead with people to stay home.

“It’s snowing so hard, the snow plows go through and then within a half hour the roadways are completely covered again,” State Police Sgt. Todd Ringle said.

The Mid-Atlantic region had been forecast to get another 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 centimeters) of snow on Monday. Dangerously cold temperatures were expected to follow, with nighttime lows falling into the single digits (below minus 12.7 C) through the middle of the week across the Central Plains and into the Mississippi and Ohio valleys.

In North Texas, 2 to 5 inches (about 5 to 13 centimeters) of snow was expected beginning Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Snow could also hit Oklahoma and Arkansas, with some parts potentially getting more than 4 inches (about 10 centimeters).

Classes canceled in several states School closings were widespread, with districts in Indiana, Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri and Kansas canceling or delaying the start of classes Monday. Among them was Kentucky’s Jefferson County Public Schools, which canceled classes and other school activities for its nearly 100,000 students.

Classes were also canceled in Maryland, where Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency Sunday and announced that state government offices would also be closed Monday. Government offices also were closed Monday in Kentucky, where Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency.

Tens of thousands are without power Many were in the dark as temperatures plunged. More than 218,000 customers were without power Monday night across Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina, according to electric utility tracking website PowerOutage.us.

In Virginia’s capital city, a power outage caused a temporary malfunction in the water system, officials said Monday afternoon. Richmond officials asked those in the city of more than 200,000 people to refrain from drinking tap water or washing dishes without boiling the water first. The city also asked people to conserve their water, such as by taking shorter showers.

City officials said they were working nonstop to bring the system back online.