Minford Woman, Sister-In-Law, Exchange Same Card Since '68

Article taken from The Portsmouth Daily Times, Wednesday, December 24, 2003

MINFORD--

Bona Colegrove sent a Christmas card to her sister-in-law, Dolores Trimble, in 1968 and probably don't think she'd ever see it again.  But she has seen the same card almost every year.

That's because Trimble sent the same card back to Colegrove in Fort Myers, Fla., in 1970, with Colegrove sending it back the next year. That patten has continued for 35 years, except in 2001, when Trimble didn't send it back because she was dealing with death in the family.

"The first year, I wrote on the card, 'We enjoyed this card so much, we thought you would like to have the same one back,'" Trimble said.

Trimble lived in Columbus when the tradition began and moved to Scioto County in 1998 after retiring from Discover Card.

Her brother, Kenneth and his wife, Bona, live in Florida in the winter and return to Columbus each summer.

This year, Trimble received the card about a week ago.

"It just means so much to us," she said.  But we can't write much on it now, after all the years.  We have cut it short because we are running out of space.  But I can't wait to see the card again next year.

Along with the special card, Trimble sends out about 50 or 60 Christmas cards each year.  Although she is dealing with so much holiday mail, she plans to continue the unique tradition.

"We want to keep it going for as long as we are all alive," Trimble said.

She gets to see her brother and sister-in-law only about two or three times during the summer.  But even during the hot months of the year, the Christmas card is not forgotten.

"Every once and a while we chuckle about it," Trimble said.