Meeting A Long Lost Relative

A few weeks ago I had a very emotional moment. I heard the voice of my namesake Aunt for the first time. December 8, 1951 was not a good time for my mother’s side of my family. My Aunt and four other young people from the area were coming home from a high school basketball game when a horrific accident occurred and all five lost their lives. The accident sent shock waves through this, at the time, small farming community. I was born about two and a half years later and was given her name for my middle name. I never knew of the tragic event until my middle school years when I noticed Mom would get very emotional around the date of the anniversary of the crash. This is when I found out about what had happened and where my middle name came from. Of course this opened up many questions in my mind. What was she like? Did I look like her? Did she sing like my Mom did? Some of my questions have been answered over the years by people who knew her and that has meant a lot. Mom didn’t talk about her very much and now I can kind of understand why. The pain of my Aunts loss devastated Mom and the rest of the family.
Years ago I found some home recording discs which were made by my Uncle before he left for the Air Force in the 19 40’s, or while he was home on leave. They sat around here for years as I thought, “There is no way these are going to play as they are so old.” It was after a cousin of the family passed away last September things began to happen. It was specifically mentioned in her obituary how she and my Aunt would go around the area with their guitars and sing for various functions. I knew this cousin, whom I called “Aunt”, played guitar. The accident devastated her and it was many, many years before she would pick up her instrument again. She played and sang in church a few times before I pretty much left home,got married, and began attending other churches.
At the visitation for my “Aunt” my cousin, her daughter, and I were talking and I told her about the old recording discs. We both wondered if there were any with her Mom and my Aunt. We discussed whether they could be restored or not with my cousin saying she knew of someone who might be able to do it. I still have not found any recordings of the two of them, but will continue to look around and hopefully God will provide in that way. Both my cousin and I would surely like to hear them from that time.
One night I walked into my husband’s office and there were the recording discs. He then said he was going to try and see if he could restore the recording of my Aunt. He had researched what speed was used to play the discs and other information and would give it a try using a program on his computer. I came home the next night from choir practice and he was putting the song into an Mp3 file on his computer. He finished and said, "Let’s hear what it sounds like." Oh my, it was awful!! There was a lot of sizzling, crackling, and popping and you could hear just a few notes of the singer every now and then. He was still working on it when I went to bed. I really didn’t know what to pray for, whether it be that he could restore it or if he wouldn’t get too frustrated trying.
The next day I had a doctor’s appointment and some errands to run. It was lunchtime when I got home and he asked me to come into his office. He started a Mp3 file and I heard this voice. I looked at him and said, “Am I hearing my Aunt?” He said, “Yes, you are.” I wanted to cry. There was some doubt for a little bit because of something said at the end of the recording. After some quick research, we determined absolutely it was my Aunt!!! My emotions ran high as finally I had this small connection to my past. I know now my Aunt had a beautiful voice and music runs through this entire side of the family. God has allowed me have this small glimpse into my long lost Aunt and I praise Him for it. I’ll see you on the other side, Auntie!!!