The next morning, Ashley called Josh and told him about the leather case full of letters.
“Why would anyone want a bunch of someone else’s old letters?” Josh asked.
“Well, first of all, the leather case is beautiful,” Ashley answered. “And my mom can use the letters to show what life was like in Donnybrook during the centuries.”
“Centuries?” asked Josh. “What centuries?”
“Duh,” said Ashley. “The 20th, 19th and 18th centuries.”
“Wait, the 18th century?” asked Josh. “Isn’t that, like, the 1700’s?”
“Yep,” said Ashley. “Mom wants to go with us to the library and ask Kathleen some questions about the letter writers.”
Kathleen Gorman was the reference librarian at the Donnybrook Library. She had helped Ashley and Josh with their investigations before. They thought it was neat that they could call her by her first name, rather than ‘Mrs. Gorman.’ It made her seem more like a friend.
“Can I come?” asked Josh.
“Of course,” said Ashley. “That’s why I was calling you.”
“Oh, yeah,” Josh laughed. “I guess that would make sense!”
“We’ll pick you up at 11 o’clock,” said Ashley.
“O.k.,” said Josh. “I’ll be ready.” He hung up the phone.
Ashley sighed and said, “Telephone manners is not his strong suit.”
“Not whose strong suit, dear?” asked Gram.
“Oh, Josh,” Ashley answered. “He never says ‘goodbye’ when we talk on the phone, he just hangs up!”
Gram laughed and said, “Well dear, boys his age are easily distracted. I’m sure he was rushing off to do something!”
“Yeah,” Ashley agreed. “Probably, eat.”
At 11 o’clock, Ashley and her mother picked up Josh to go to the Donnybrook Library. Once there, they quickly made their way to the Reference Librarian’s desk. Ashley and Josh breathed an audible sigh of relief when they saw Kathleen sitting there.
Kathleen looked up from the book on her desk. “Why, hello,” she said. “What brings you two here today? Oh, hello, Mrs. Enright. This is a welcome surprise.”
“Hello, Mrs. Gorman,” said Ashley’s mother. “I know that I don’t get to the library as often as I should. Today, we need your help.”
“Yes,” said Ashley. “Gram and I bought a leather portfolio for Mom at the Peabody’s garage sale. It’s filled with letters and we were hoping that you could tell us something about them.”
“I can certainly try,” said Kathleen as she took the letters out of the portfolio. “Wow, some of these letters are really old.
“We know,” said Ashley. “Those were really the ones that we needed to know about.”
Kathleen took a few moments to open up the letters and read them. Then, she looked something up on her computer. “Wow,” she said. “This is almost unbelieveable!”
“What, what?” asked Josh anxiously leaning over her desk.
“Well, these old, old letters are from William Whipple. Do you have any idea who he was?” asked Kathleen.
“No, of course not,” said Ashley’s mother. “That’s why we’re here!”
“Well,” said Kathleen looking at her computer screen. “It says here that William Whipple was born in Kittery, Maine which is at the bottom of the state. He was a sea captain before he moved to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He then became a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1775 and actually signed the Declaration of Independence!”
“Wow,” said Josh. “That’s cool.”
“It sure is,” said Kathleen. “These letters are written to a family member who lived in Donnybrook and provide quite an insight as to what was happening at the birth of our nation. Where did you get these letters, again?”
“At Mr. Peabody’s garage sale,” said Ashley. “We asked him about the letters, but he said that we could have them.”
“I guess he didn’t really know what he had,” said Ashley’s mother. “Ashley and my mother bought the portfolio for me because they thought I could use the letters in the Donnybrook Days event.”
“Well, this certainly gives you a great insight into life in Philadelphia in 1775-76,” said Kathleen. “It also looks like there are letters written during World War I and II. It’s an amazing collection that you have here!”
“I know,” said Ashley’s mother. “It’s really going to add some unique flavor to Donnybrook Days. I’d really appreciate it if you could provide us with some more details about the letter writers.”
“It’d be my pleasure,” said Kathleen. “You know I love to investigate!” She winked at Ashley and Josh.
“We know,” said Ashley and Josh in unison.
They arranged to pick up the portfolio from Kathleen later in the day and went into town to enjoy lunch at Ella’s Sweet Shop.
The next evening, after another scrumptious meal prepared by Gram, the Enrights gathered on their back porch to get ready to view the Donnybrook 4th of July fireworks display.
Josh and his parents joined them. There were oohs and aahs when Ashley brought out the special holiday dessert that she and Gram had made. It was a sheet cake frosted to look like the American Flag.
“That looks delicious,” said Ashley’s mother. “You did a spectacular job!”
“Do we have to wait until after the fireworks to eat it?” Josh asked anxiously.
“No, Joshua,” said Gram. “That would be too cruel to make you wait! Besides, the sun is just setting now and we have some time before the fireworks start.”
“Whew,” said Josh holding his fork and ready to eat.
As Gram cut the cake, Ashley’s mother said, “This is a truly memorable 4th of July.”
“Why is that, dear?” asked Ashley’s father. “Because we have cake?”
Ashley’s mother laughed and said, “Now you sound exactly like someone we know.” She nodded her head toward Josh. “No, I mean it’s memorable because of those letters that Ashley and my mother found.”
“Oh, that,” said Ashley’s father. “What will happen to those letters now?”
“We’re going to give them to the University,” said Ashley. “They want to build a special exhibit for next year’s 4th of July on Donnybrook’s connection to the Declaration of Independence.”
“Once again,” said Ashley’s father. “Ashley Enright Investigations has uncovered something great!”
“Well,” said Ashley. “Gram and I were really just buying a nice leather portfolio case.”
“I know,” said Ashley’s mother. “But, as usual, you’ve found something important.”
“I guess,” said Ashley as the first firework exploded in the sky above the Donnybrook Lighthouse. “I can’t wait until tomorrow, but, first I want to enjoy the fireworks display!”
Happy 4th of July!
