The Story Behind This Belgian Matchbook

“In 1944, when my Brooklyn-born grandfather was stationed in Belgium, he stepped out of a card game, met my grandmother, and the rest, as they say, is history. After my grandmother passed away, we found this matchbook in her dresser. The dates written on the cover, May 19–July 17, 1964, mark the two-month trip her sister Anna took to New York, sailing over from France on the Hamburg-Atlantic Line. This was the first time my grandmother had seen her sister in 18 years. Above the dates, Anna wrote the word marraine (“godmother” in French) to commemorate meeting her 14-year-old nephew—her godson . . . and my dad.”