Valentine's Day - Rotary Club, 1988

This subseries contains cards and letters sent or received by members of the Sutherland family during Tom’s captivity between June 9, 1985, and November 18, 1991. Included are letters Jean wrote to former hostages, supporters, and other organizations while living in Beirut. Letters between family members and letters to and from Dr. William G. Murray, Jean’s father, provide some context for family activities while Tom was held hostage. The Sutherlands received many cards and letters during Tom’s captivity from family, friends, schools, and unknown supporters, and these make up the largest part of this subseries. Cards from coordinated card showers for Valentine’s Day and Christmas in 1988 meant to increase visibility and show public support for all American hostages are especially numerous and include some oversize cards items. These cards were sent primarily to the Coloradoan (Fort Collins) and As-Safir (Beirut) newspapers and the U.S. State Department. They were later given to the Sutherlands, who stored but did not open them all. Archivists opened the rest as part of mold mitigation and arrangement activities. Materials are arranged by category: from Jean, Sutherland family, Murray family, and chronological. Within categories, materials are listed alphabetically except in the chronological category, in which materials are arranged chronologically by year and then alphabetically within each year.