Elroy women exchange same Christmas card for 52 years

Keeping up a longstanding tradition, two Elroy women, Charlene Ennis and her sister-in-law Loretta Kranz, have been sending a Christmas card back and forth each year for the past 52 years. The following is the story as penned by Ennis.

My sister-in law, Loretta Kranz and myself have carried on a Christmas tradition, for the last 52 years! We exchange the same Christmas card! We sign our names from ourselves & our husbands and the year it was sent.

It started in 1967 when I sent Loretta the card, and the following year, she sent it back to me. I thought it was rather funny, so I kept it with my other cards of that year (and back then, we usually received a stack of them, unlike today, when not too many Christmas cards are exchanged anymore). I miss that tradition. Receiving any kind of card or letter in the mail other than a bill is always fun to look forward to.

But now a days, I receive and send only a few. That makes me sad to see the art of the card disappearing, along with letter writing as a whole. But with the technology and social media, most people have access to now, we don’t feel the need to send a special hello via a card at this time of year. 

But every year, here comes our 52-year-old card. It has become quite tattered, and it ran out of room to sign a name. So I looked through some of my old cards that I’m apt to keep, as I do many things, and found one that looked very similar to the original, and we started signing that card. The first one was not left behind, though. That one takes its place of honor in the original, old, tattered envelope, along with the new one. 

It’s been quite fun, and a challenge sometimes, to keep track of the card from year to year. About the beginning of December each year, I find myself thinking, is it Loretta’s turn to send the card or mine? So I go look it up with many of my other cards I’ve kept over the years and find the stack from the year before. I always put a note on the stack stating I have the card to send this year, or Loretta has it.

I’m a great one for tradition and old and vintage items. My house and tree are decorated with many of the like. They remind me of my childhood and simpler and memorable times. 

Not sure what our kids will do with our cards when we’re gone, as it probably won’t be exchanged too much longer. I hope one of them keeps it and carries on the tradition, but they probably won’t, as the new generation aren’t interested in the “old” things. But maybe when they get to our age, they will change their minds. I hope so. 

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