09/01/2026
Ready for a crazy story regarding this business card of my dad’s (circa late 90’s-early 2000’s)?? Buckle up.
About a month ago, Erich’s dad sent him an eBay listing (how he came across it, we’ll never know) for this business card and many other Canandaigua-local businesses, including Wegman’s and other automotive shops. The person listing it is located in North Carolina. In the listing, it states items were purchased from an estate—what that truly means, I don’t know, I’m assuming an estate sale or storage unit— and subsequently resold.
Erich messaged the seller asking if this was the only one and we would purchase however many she has as well as the story behind why he was inquiring. The woman simply emailed him back saying that this was the only one and she would gladly send it to us for free, “to get it back home where it belongs”.
For the next 3 weeks, Erich religiously tracked the envelope as it bounced from USPS hub to USPS hub, making it as close to us as Rochester before he noticed it heading back south to Charlotte NC. Once he noticed it heading back south, he emailed the seller and notified her that it would hopefully make it back to her. When she received it, she put it in a cardboard envelope and sent it on its way.
Today it finally showed up. It’s in perfect condition, real, and easily over 25 years old. The phone numbers on the card are the original 716 area code, this area was switched to 585 in November of 2001. It also has our Body Shop phone number on it which hadn’t been operational since around the same time or slightly before. What an insane find.
My plan is to write this woman a note and mail it to her thanking her for sending this to me, and explaining how much having this means to my entire family. With all the farm stand thefts and general hate within our community and world lately, this brings me so much happiness knowing that there are still good people in the world that truly just want to be nice humans.
Thank you to whoever you are, you sure made my day. 🫶🏻
