Postcard Dated 1920 Is Delivered a Century Later in Michigan: 'That's a Little Too Slow'

A spokesperson with the United States Postal Service tells PEOPLE how this could have happened

USPS delivery truck
USPS delivery truck. Photo: Getty Images

A woman in Michigan went to get her mail this week and was shocked to find a letter postmarked from 1920 inside her mailbox.

Brittany Keech said she couldn't believe what she was seeing when she pulled the 100-year-old Halloween postcard out of her Belding home's mailbox on Tuesday, according to ABC affiliate WXYZ.

"It was sitting right on top of the mail," she recalled to the outlet. "I start looking at it and I'm like, 'Okay, it's been through some wear and tear.'"

The card, which Keech posted to the "Positively Belding" Facebook page, had a one-cent George Washington stamp in the corner and a postmark of Oct. 29, 1920.

According to WXYZ, there was a handwritten note signed by someone named Flossie Burgess that read: "Dear Cousins, Hope this will find you all well. We are quite well but mother has awful lame knees. It is awful cold here. I just finished my history lesson and am going to bed pretty soon. My father is shaving and my mother is telling me your address. I will have to close for a night. Hope grandma and grandpa are well. Don't forget to write us - Roy get his pants fixed yet."

Keech also told the outlet that the card "shows a witch with a cat and a goose and an owl and says, 'Halloween greetings. Which would you rather be? A goose or a pumpkin head?'"

"Yea, that's a little too slow," she joked of the century-old late delivery.

After unexpectedly receiving the letter, which appeared to be addressed to a "Roy McQueen" on East Division Street in Belding, Keech asked the members of the Facebook group if anyone knew the person.

"Ok so I received this in the mail today. It appears to be a really old letter. I would like to get it to the[m] or to a family member. Does anyone know this person? Their first name is missing," she explained in the post. "Any help would be great."

While it is unclear if the letter is legitimate, a spokesperson with the United States Postal Service tells PEOPLE there is a chance it could be a hoax.

"In most cases, these incidents do not involve mail that had been lost in our network and later found," the spokesperson says. "What we typically find is that old letters and postcards — sometimes purchased at flea markets, antique shops and even online — are re-entered into our system."

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"The end result is what we do best — as long as there is a deliverable address and postage, the card or letter gets delivered," the spokesperson adds.

Though she has yet to find the person or their family, Keech is hopeful that she will be connected to them soon — and if not, possibly give it to a Belding museum to be put on display.

"This might be something that their parents can say, 'Yeah, I remember when your great-great-grandma would tell me stories," Keech told WXYZ.

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