Sepia Saturday #233 The mystery of the tiny nylon stocking

Two years ago my daughter was visiting from New York and we did our favorite thing, went junk shopping (or should I say antique shopping?). We went to a shabby chic kind of place in Solana Beach, Ca and I found this wonderful treasure that I really wanted. But my daughter in her infinite wisdom said, "don't buy that. What are you going to do with it? You already have enough stuff and I thought you were trying to get rid of stuff."

So against my better judgement I declined the treasure that day.

My daughter left the next day and called me that night to let me know she arrived safely. Her first question was "Did you go back and buy that thing that you wanted?" and I had to reply, "What do you think? I had to, it was just too cute." I heard a big sigh on the other end of the line. She knew me too well.

So see if you agree. Didn't I have to have this?:

This is the tiniest little nylon stocking which is attached with a safety pin to a love letter (which I'll translate later).

Also here is the engagement announcement from The Standard, New Bedford, Mass.

 And to top it off, a wedding photo:

 

I wish the groom was included in the photo. He was in the Navy, so I'll bet he wore his white navy dress uniform. Maybe one of the flower girls was small enough to wear the tiny nylon stocking! 

Here's the size of the stocking just for your info:

  

And here's the letter which is quite touching. Did he write it to her, or her to him? I think it was from her because of the handwriting.

 

Translation:

"This is to be saved till next Christmas. Maybe Santa will fill it full of toys? This is also a reminder that after sand and heat you'll be able to look at nylon, smell perfume and hear lovely music. It won't be long darling."

Yes, I definitely think it was written by Helen.  But where did that tiny little stocking come from and what was it? Maybe she worked in the hosiery section of some fancy department store and this was a sample to let you know the shade of the stocking. Or maybe it was a salesman's sample. It's too big to be a stocking for a doll. Maybe it would fit a one legged munchkin. I don't know. Any ideas? 

And isn't it interesting that he was being sent to the Persian Gulf? There were no dates on any of these documents, but from the looks of the photo I think it was the 40s. Can you imagine we were off meddling in the Persian Gulf then? Will things never change?

A little more info about the couple (I couldn't find much). Thomas Kurtz Kline was born in Baltimore on Nov. 10, 1924 and died on June 18, 2006 in Albuquerque, New Mexico and buried in Santa Fe. His parents were John Louis Kline and Alice N. Gonder. Thomas enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1942 and was discharged in 1965. I found nothing about Helen except that she was born in 1924 in New Bedford, Mass.

Let's hope they had a long and happy marriage and that she filled many of his Christmas stockings with many wonderful toys.

For more wedding stories, click here Sepia Saturday.