Back in July, I wrote a column about a terrific art exhibition at Gallery 25 titled "Assemblage." One of the pieces in that show was by noted Fresno artist Nancy Youdelman, who likes to use found objects in her art. She had stumbled upon a fascinating cache of old letters that she ended up using as the basis for the piece, which she titled "Letters to Allen," pictured above.

Youdelman found the letters on eBay, which is a common place these days for people to unload old family heirlooms. (What to do with a stash of letters found in an attic? Put them on eBay.) The man had passed away at an advanced age. When Youdelman stumbled upon the letters and plowed through their beautiful calligraphy, she discovered an intriguing, if one-sided, view of a charismatic young man named Allen H. Watkins living in Greensboro, N.C., in the 1930s. From the letters that he had saved, which came from a number of women, a portrait emerges of an engaging young man with a country-club lifestyle and a bevy of lady friends who were obviously interested in him as romantic material.

After that story ran, I got an email from a local gentleman named Howard Watkins who was interested in the last name of the subject for obvious reasons. He put a link to the column on a Watkins family genealogy site. And, lo and behold, he got a call from none other than the son of Allen H. Watkins. Could he put her in touch with the artist?

I immediately called Youdelman. You can't blame her for being a little nervous for hearing that the son of the man whose intimate correspondence wound up in her assemblage piece wanted to talk with her.

Youdelman (pictured at right in a 2002 photo) might have been worried that the son would be angry -- even though she'd legally purchased the letters -- and could even be asking her not to display the artwork. But she needn't have worried. She writes:

I have spoken to both Howard Watkins and John A. Watkins -- both are simply wonderful people and speaking with them has been an uplifting experience. Howard is hugely into geneology -- I was impressed with what he told me and it is possible that he and I are related -- going back about 20 generations -- we both have Jewish ancestors from Lithuania!

I called John A. Watkins this morning -- he is 75, the eldest son of Allen. He was very warm, generous and had no idea that the letters existed or how they got out in the world. He was glad that I told him how I got them and was quite interested in the content of the letters. He said that he could have learned something from his dad, that he (John) was an "expert" bachelor for 70 years (!) and had only gotten married 3 years ago (for the first time!). He talked a lot about his father's passion for flying and planes--Allen first bought a plane in the late 1920s or very early 1930s, a "Curtis Wright A 14 D Speed Wing" that is now in an aviation museum--it is the only one of its kind still in existence. Also John told me that Allen met Amelia Earhart in the early 30s.

So I had a quite enjoyable experience speaking with both men. I am going to send photocopies of the letters to John--he didn't ask for the letters but when I offered to send copies, he said that he would love to receive them. He went on to tell me that I would enjoy visiting where he lives and he thought that I would love to see his father's home--it sits on a golf course and is HUGE, 12 bedrooms, 9 1/2 baths, a stable, riding ring, tennis courts, 2 swimming pools! It is currently for sale, the only interest so far was from Oprah Winfrey. He is going to send me photo of the house that was taken in 1931. Unfortunately, he has no photos of his father from that time.

Thanks so much for contacting me about this. My initial paranoia completely dissolved when I heard the warmth in the very first words spoken by both Howard and John. The world is a wonderful place after all...

Isn't that a nice story?