Butter Wrap Letters

History doesn't get more personal than this. A Wisconsin community's World War II story told through one extraordinary Christmas letter.

One piece of butter wrap. One small town. Dozens of voices that refused to be forgotten.

In the Christmas season of 1943, the people of Grafton, Wisconsin filled a long sheet of butter wrapping paper with handwritten messages for their hometown milkman serving in the U.S. Navy. What began as a simple holiday greeting became an extraordinary time capsule of American life during World War II.

Through these heartfelt messages and the stories behind them, Heather Bode reveals how ordinary families experienced rationing, celebrations, hardship, hope, and the daily realities of a nation at war. Preserved for more than eighty years, this remarkable artifact offers an intimate portrait of the Greatest Generation--and a powerful reminder that history is often found in the most unexpected places.