A CALIFORNIA LOVE STORY
by John Wilcox Thill
A grandson collects his grandparents’ love letters from the early 20th century in this biographical homage to love.
Author and adult education tutor Thill believes that “we have a shortage of love stories.” This collection of letters written between 1925 and 1927 colorfully illustrates the heavenly courtship of his grandparents Ray and Dora Wilcox. Thill considered his grandfather a formative figure throughout the author’s early years, so the biography turns out to be a natural celebration of Ray and his blossoming infatuation with Dora. While Thill traveled to Kansas and Oklahoma to research the couple’s origins, he found their cross-country postcards and extensive letters collaborating on their future together in California the most charming and entertaining example of how they revived each other through their mutual promises. Back then, California was sparsely populated and, as Thill asserts, “North America was wide open and wild.” So Ray and Dora had much planning to accomplish, with Dora still working in the Midwest. But when Ray first experienced the natural beauty of Southern California, it was the raw, undeveloped coastline in Oceanside that became the second biggest passion in his life. It was there in their simple California ranch-style house that Ray did his best work as a community builder until his death in 1986, several years after Dora’s. Their letters offer a poignant testament to long-distance love and a heartfelt glimpse into the lives of these two unique individuals. Evolving from a friendly initial communication when Dora was innocently and openly dating other men out of boredom in Wichita, Kansas, to the passion and longing of two meant-to-be-together hearts, their journey is enchanting. Ray was an open communicator and never minced words, especially about his courtship of Dora. The result is a moving epistolary narrative of meaningful words, messages, and photographs that describe the evolution of their deeply felt romance. Dora even emerges as Thill’s “ ‘dark horse’ influencer and sassy female hero” as the letters (and the couple’s relationship) lead to her 1927 arrival in California to finally join Ray. This treasury will instantly win over readers of romance novels with its outspoken candor and swooning sentiments.
A captivating, immensely fond tribute to a true love affair from another place and time.