Valentine’s Day will soon bring plenty of trinkets and baubles, but we’re hoping the tale of this real life treasure will bring more joy than candied hearts and roses to your readers. This romantic travel story takes you to Wrightsville Beach, home of the infamous beach mailbox that sparked hundreds of love notes and journals expressing traveler’s thoughts for more than a decade!
The History
In 2003, locals Bernie and Sidney Nykanen decided to place the mailbox and a bench at their favorite spot on the beach as a place of reflection for others to sit and write their thoughts. The mailbox, inscribed simply with “Leave a Note,” was perched on a sand dune on the north end of the island, where it remained for 11 years. During that time, visitors from all over the world traveled to the mailbox to jot down their thoughts in a journal resting within it.
Overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and across from a wild bird sanctuary, the spot is one of the most romantic locations on the island. More than 200 journals were filled with everything from love poems to prayers for peace before the capsule was moved to the Wrightsville Beach Museum of History just last year.
Thankfully, this story lives on for romance fans that wish to travel to Wrightsville Beach for a glimpse of the famed love vessel. Today, visitors to the museum can find the original mailbox on exhibit and peruse the heartfelt handwritten notes.
Today
Visitors can still add their own notes to one of two new mailboxes that now call the same area on the north end of the mailbox home. Student ambassadors from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington installed two mailboxes to preserve the tradition this past summer. They lovingly maintain the mailbox by keeping it stocked with journals and pens and making any necessary repairs, just like Bernie and Sidney did for 11 years. It’s a labor of love, and the students are committed to preserving its legacy and importance in the history of Wrightsville Beach.
Enjoy some real life stories from the Mailbox:
Ethan — As a teenager, Ethan didn’t have the courage to talk to the girl he had a crush on, so he opted to sharing his feelings in the journal every time he visited Wrightsville Beach. Eventually, Ethan brought the object of his affections to the mailbox, where he let her read all of his past entries. They started dating and eventually got engaged.
· Eric — Eric got down on one knee at the mailbox and proposed to his girlfriend, Cathleen. The two were later married, and their wedding reception included a replica mailbox where guests were encouraged to “Leave a Note.”
· Bernie — Bernie and his wife, Sidney, are the keepers of the mailbox. They were married on the same beach and wanted to share their romantic spot with strangers, so they built a bench and set up the original mailbox as a means of allowing people to contemplate and communicate the old-fashioned way.
